Contribution of Exclosures for Restoration of Woody Species Diversity and Regulating Ecosystem Services in Ethiopia

Abstract

In Ethiopia Exclosures has been recognized as promising practice in the restoration of degraded land and regulating the environmental services. Though, study on the role of exclosures on rehabilitating of degraded land is very little, fragmented and doesn’t often integrate the regulating environmental services. To scale up this practices insight to the Ethiopian level, I carry out reviewing different research articles on the role of exclosure to biodiversity of woody species and regulating ecosystem services. The review of this study showed that exclosure significantly enhanced woody species diversity; reducing soil erosion, improve Soil nutrient contents and the ecosystem carbon stock potential over the adjacent communal grazing lands. In addition to this establishing exclosures has a high contribution to the livelihood of local communities. As a result the local communities have a positive attitude towards the establishment of exclosures in the degraded lands. Overall review from this study strongly indicates that establishment of exclosures in the degraded lands of Ethiopia are a win-win situation since it is advantageous over the people, natural and climate of the country. However, by involving the key stakeholders the governmental and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs’) should have to expand this practice to whole degraded lands of the country.

Keywords: Climate change mitigation, Enclosure, Degradation, Rehabilitations, Restoration