| Six studies were conducted in Chilimo Gaji Dry Afro-montane forest,Ethiopia to assess the sustainability of the forest under the newly introduced PFM.The first thematic study dealt with the application of muliti-criteria adopted and modified at the forest management unit level and the result of the study indicated Chilimo Gaji forest is being sustainably managed under the new scheme of participatory forest management,with an overall sustainability index of 0.805 which mean the forest is 80.5%sustainable.The result of the sustainability index also indicated ththat at the ecological criteria have achieved more sustainability index value than that of the socioeconomic criteria and Chilimo forest user group(FUG)has achieved higher overall sustainability index value than that of Masalameyia FUG indicating that the forest under Chilimo FUG is more sustainably managed than that of forest under Masalemyia FUG.The second thematic study was conducted to analyze the land use and land cover(LULC)trend and dynamics of Chilimo Gaji forest,Ethiopia,through time and identify their drivers which have occurred over the last 43 years,using 5 periods of satellite images and household survey.The result of the study indicated that five classes of LULC namely shrub land,rural settlement,bare land and road,forest land and agricultural land were identified,and that landscape change trends have occurred over the last 43 years in the study area.The most commonly reported drivers of deforestation in the study area were the expansion of agricultural land,rural settlements,population growth,insecurity of the tenure and rights over the land,timber production and fuel wood collection.The demand of land for agriculture and settlement resulting from increasing population and expansion of agriculture led to the clearing of the forest land in the study area.The forest land cover type has lost the most while shrubland gained at the most magnitude.The result further confirms that deforestation rate has declined from 2008-2015 as a result of the introduction of PFM schemes since 1996 involving the local community in management and sharing of the benefit obtained from the management.The third thematic study was conducted to determine the soil quality of the forest using selected soil physicochemical quality parameters such as(moisture,bulk density,pH,soil organic matter,total nitrogen,available phosphorus,and potassium).The result of this study theme indicates that total N,available P and K,and%C are higher on the surface soil(0-20 cm)than in the subsoil(20-30 cm)indicating more nutrients are concentrated in the surface soil.The soil of the study area is very fertile and sustainable as the parameters analyzed indicating the forest ecosystem in the study area is sustainably managed.The fourth thematic study was conducted to investigate the population structure and regeneration status of woody species as an indicator for forest condition and to provide information on sustainable management of the woody plants in Chilimo Gaji forest.The result of this study indicated that there is a good regeneration of the wood species in the study area with the total density of seedlings,saplings and trees/shrubs were 1743.75,827.08,757.64 ha-1 respectively.The cumulative species DBH class distribution of the study area was inverted J-shape distribution indicating stable population status or good regeneration status.The fifth thematic study was conducted to estimate the tree above ground biomass(AGB)using nondestructive allometric equation.The result of this study indicated that total AGB stock of the study area was 844.4 t ha,encompassing the total carbon stock of 422.2 t C ha,whereas the total below ground biomass stock was 168.9 t ha-1,with the total carbon stock of 84.4 t C t ha-1.The carbon stock potential of GAJI Forest was 506.7 t C/ha with C02 sequestration potential of 1859.45 t C ha.The result of this thematic study further revealed that the area has a huge potential of carbon stock compared to other study made in the other remnants forests indicating the forest was well managed and protected by the participation of the local community organized as FUGs.The sixth thematic study was conducted to assess forest good governance using 7 criteria and 40 local adopted indicators,with the objective to analyze the current status of forest governance by the(FUGs)meets selected good governance principles.The result of this thematic study indicated that the percentage score of the overall status of governance in the study area is 79.08%,which can be considered as a good level of good governance.In conclusion,all the six study thematic studies confirmed that Chilimo Gaji forest is under the sustainable condition which is underpinned by the new scheme of participatory forest management introduced and practiced in the study area.Improvement in good governance level and sustainable practices of the analyzed participatory forest management practices in the study area are recommended for sustainability of Chilimo Gaji Forest.Moreover,the participation of indigenous people in protection and conservation of forest natural resources is important in reducing the cost to the state and improving the livelihood of the local communities.It is also worth mainstreaming participatory forest management into national forest policy and regional and local forest management strategies. |
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