Women’s participation in decision making and strong land tenure rights and governance are essential if REDD+ and other climate change mitigation and adaptation measures are to achieve climate goals and provide local benefits. This was a key message from over 80 delegates at the Africa Regional Dialogue.
EfD-K research fellows, Dr. Paul Guthiga, Dr. Moses Ikiara, Geophrey SIkei and Maurice Ogada all presented papers during the meeting in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia loses large amounts of money due to deforestation and soil erosion. Recent research shows in monetary terms the value of the country’s natural resources and the costs of soil degradation. It also reveals that official government reports greatly underestimate the contribution of forests and soil resources to the national economy. A way for decision makers to address the problems is to adopt natural resource accounting.
This is an example of how EfD research can influence policies for Sustainable Land Management, Forest Policy, and Climate Change Adaptation in Ethiopia.