Migration and Conservation in the Bale Mountains Ecosystem

This policy brief examines the impact of human migration on the Bale Mountains ecosystem in southeast Ethiopia, specifically focusing on the Harenna Forest. By comparing the woredas of Harenna Buluk and Delo Mena, the document analyzes how political pull factors and economic push factors drive migration, leading to accelerated deforestation, biodiversity loss, and a shift from traditional pastoralism to profit-oriented crop farming. The authors propose several policy interventions, including the regulation of informal land markets, the use of flagship species for conservation, and the development of sustainable livelihoods such as tourism.

• Migration into the Harenna Forest since the 1990s has been driven by a combination of push and pull factors. In Harenna Buluk, the primary pull factor is the desire of political elites to increase the district's population through the active promotion of migration, while push factors include limited economic opportunities and lack of agricultural land in areas of origin.
• Migration is accelerating the degradation of the ecosystem, though biodiversity loss is occurring across the region regardless of migration pressures. In Harenna Buluk, where migration is high, the rate of land conversion and forest loss is faster than in Delo Mena, where migration has been minimal.
• The influx of migrants has shifted local economic activities from traditional pastoralism toward profit-oriented crop farming. Local residents in Harenna Buluk have rapidly adopted these farming methods, including the cultivation of khat, a crop introduced by migrants.
• The document proposes several policy solutions to mitigate forest decline: regulating the informal land market and 'land use tax' via kebele bylaws, utilizing flagship species (such as the Bale monkey and Africa wild dog) to protect habitats, and framing conservation through the lens of regional water security.
• Current forest management bylaws in Harenna Buluk and Delo Mena are ineffective because the penalties for infractions are minor, symbolic fines that do not deter illegal activity.

APA

Wakjira, D. T., d’Udine, F., & Crawford, A. (2015). Migration and Conservation in the Bale Mountains Ecosystem. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/migration-conservation-bale-mountains-ecosystem-policy-brief.pdf

Chicago

Wakjira, Dereje Tadesse, Floris d’Udine, and Alec Crawford. Migration and Conservation in the Bale Mountains Ecosystem. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2015. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/migration-conservation-bale-mountains-ecosystem-policy-brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wakjira |first1=Dereje Tadesse |last2=d’Udine |first2=Floris |last3=Crawford |first3=Alec |title=Migration and Conservation in the Bale Mountains Ecosystem |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=August 2015 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/migration-conservation-bale-mountains-ecosystem-policy-brief.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wakjira2015migration, author = {Wakjira, Dereje Tadesse and d’Udine, Floris and Crawford, Alec}, title = {{Migration and Conservation in the Bale Mountains Ecosystem}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/migration-conservation-bale-mountains-ecosystem-policy-brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }