Migration and Conservation in the Bale Mountains Ecosystem

This report examines the relationship between human migration and environmental conservation in the Bale Mountains ecosystem of southeast Ethiopia, specifically comparing the Harenna Buluk and Delo Mena woredas. It finds that while land conversion occurs in both areas, large-scale migration into Harenna Buluk has accelerated deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and the abandonment of traditional pastoralist systems in favor of intensive crop farming. The report recommends regulating informal land markets, strengthening participatory forest management bylaws, and developing alternative livelihoods like tourism to protect the region's high biodiversity and critical water-tower functions.

• The Bale Mountains ecosystem, comprising Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) and Harenna Forest, is a critical global center of endemism and a regional 'water tower' providing water to 12 million downstream users in southeast Ethiopia and Somalia.
• Migration into the Harenna Buluk woreda was historically driven by local political elites who promoted settlement to increase the district's population, which was a prerequisite for re-establishing it as a separate woreda in 2005.
• Migration has significantly accelerated land conversion in Harenna Buluk; between 1995 and 2011, agricultural and settlement land increased from 5% to 23% of the woreda's total area, while forest cover decreased by nearly 11%.
• In contrast to Harenna Buluk, the Delo Mena woreda has experienced minimal migration, and while it also sees forest loss along its southern edge, its grasslands and woodlands have remained largely unchanged since 1995.
• Migrants in Harenna Buluk have introduced more profit-oriented, land-intensive farming methods and new crops, such as khat, which have been rapidly adopted by local residents, leading to the decline of the traditional 'godantu' pastoralist transhumance system.
• The intensification of forest coffee management—which involves removing shade trees and undergrowth to maximize yield—is widespread across both woredas and causes biodiversity loss and forest degradation.
• A thriving informal land market exists where public land is sold to private individuals, often migrants, a process facilitated by local officials who implicitly condone or profit from these illegal transactions through informal 'land use taxes'.
• Current participatory forest management (PFM) bylaws are hindered by symbolic penalties—such as fines as low as 1 ETB per head of cattle—which fail to act as effective deterrents against unsustainable resource use.
• The Harenna Forest is home to critically endangered and unique species, including the Harenna shrew, the Harenna Forest grass frog, and a unique population of African wild dogs that occupy atypical forest habitats.
• The report recommends that conservationists use the forest's role in regional water security to raise awareness and funds, and suggests that tourism could provide viable alternative livelihoods for both locals and migrants.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Migration and Conservation in the Bale Mountains Ecosystem. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/migration-conservation-bale-mountains-ecosystem-report.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Migration and Conservation in the Bale Mountains Ecosystem. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/migration-conservation-bale-mountains-ecosystem-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Migration and Conservation in the Bale Mountains Ecosystem |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/migration-conservation-bale-mountains-ecosystem-report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndmigration, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Migration and Conservation in the Bale Mountains Ecosystem}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/migration-conservation-bale-mountains-ecosystem-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }