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Ethiopia possesses considerable biodiversity and natural resources, as well as many endemic species. It has had, however, only limited success protecting some of these natural assets since establishing a conservation and protected-area program in 1965, due to the country's prolonged engagement in various armed conflicts. Deforestation, farming, overgrazing, hunting, and soil erosion all were conflict-related factors that led to many of these changes and limited the conservation and protected-area program's success. Government institutional politics, and adherence to an exclusionary protected area policy were also key factors. Despite these setbacks, however, hope remains for protecting what is left of Ethiopia's biodiversity and natural assets, as demonstrated by the example of Ethiopia's Awash National Park, where community participation in park management played a key role in the park's survival.
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