Deforestation,information and citations

The paper comments on the deforestation orthodoxy in Ethiopia; the process through which information is constructed and spread. A fairly comprehensive search in literature does not reveal the origin of the figure 40%, a value frequently describing the forest cover at the turn of the century both in highland Ethiopia and in Ethiopia as a whole. Compared with the present forest cover, it suggests a severe deforestation taking place in Ethiopia. The bias towards emphasising enclosures, terracing and tree-planting as a strategy to counteract environmental degradation processes in the Highlands of Ethiopia most likely stems from the available data on deforestation rates. These alarming figures are reproduced indiscriminately in many reports and papers without referring to their origins or to methodologies through which the data is obtained. The paper finally presents a study on changes in woody plant cover based on aerial photo interpretation. The study area around Debre Sina in North Shäwa Province shows a distinct increase in tree/bush cover between 1957–86. The location of the study area may however indicate that results from local studies not necessarily are applicable to wider areas in the Highlands.The author wants to express his gratitude to the Ethiopia Research Programme (ERP) at the University of Trondheim for accommodating this study and to the Centre for Environment and Development for financial support. Thanks to Svein Ege and Dr. Harald Aspen at ERP for various inputs and comments, and to Dr. Axel Baudouin at the Department of Geography, University of Trondheim for encouragement at the GIS laboratory. Thanks also to Adam Biran at UCL for commenting on a first draft. The study was made possible through a grant from The Norwegian Research Council for Social Sciences and the Humanities (NAVF). From the same project has been published: Wøien, H.: Woody plant cover and farming compound distribution on the Mafud escarpment, Ethiopia. An aerial photo interpretation of changes 1957–1986. Working Paper on Ethiopian Development No. 9: August 1995. The publication presents an extended version of the case study.