[Mezgebu Senbeto]

Nowadays, our living environment needs more attention because human beings are modifying it through the intensification of food production systems (land-use systems) to the extent of over-exploiting natural resources regardless of their sustainability. Everybody worries about daily foods and the temporary survival of him/her life on earth, but nobody cares about the sources which are critically degrading. Issues of sustainable natural resources management and the future fate of our living environment are under question and raising great debates of scientific interests and socio-economic benefits. For example, as far as we all know, reports are predicting that the human population on earth will be more than 9 billion while the productivity of land resources and production of food crops will be declined by 50% from now to 2050. This is an impressive tradeoff and needs high commitment and innovative compromising reactions.

Regardless of the incredible realities for well-designed and sustainable nature-based solutions approach, in the many countries’ documents of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement on climate change, NbS in non-forest ecosystems are not well represented. For both mitigation and adaptation purposes, there is a strong emphasis on terrestrial forests and forestry while coastal and marine habitats are relatively less concerned. Additionally, consideration for ecosystem services of grassland, woodlands, wetlands, coastal-based, and including restorative agricultural practices were not given attention at all. This less consideration will put high pressure on forest conservation, and the forestry-related and nature-based green economy of any country.
In my experiences, specifically, during different studies and research activities, consultancy works, professional meetings, surveys, different training, and individual observations in western and southwestern parts of Ethiopia, I have noted that the degrading diversity of natural forests for the replacement of plantation coffee systems; clearing lands from different vegetation coverage for food crop production; draining wetlands for crop production; polluting coastal areas through inappropriate industries and utilization activities; expanding woodlots of exotic tree species over naturally regenerated indigenous species; burning woody and grasslands, and avoiding intercropping for seeking surplus yield of a single crop are being favored than preferring diversity in the different farming systems. For instance, the Yayo Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO registered biodiversity hotspot forest area, and however, it has been indicated still under degradation in favor for the expansion of plantation coffee than the diversified forest coffee land-use systems. Therefore, these tradeoffs are very impressive gaps and need to compromise for sustainability.

Therefore, I would like the NDC to highly consider:
 Diversified and sustainable farming systems in terms of environmentally friendly, ensure production, and productivity.
 Land-use systems are also expected to be enough demanded climate change mitigation and adaptations thereby reducing food insecurity, hunger, and end poverty through enhancing sustainable production and productivity of the natural resources.
 Less preferred ecosystems, such as wetland, grassland, agriculture, and coastal-based in the national documents of many countries, specifically in Ethiopia should be considered for the sustainable utilization and management of natural resources.
 Additionally, to solve these critical problems and tradeoffs among human activities, livelihoods, ecosystems, and sustainability issues, we need to create a basic ‘Win-Win’ approach through assessing, defining, and modeling their linkages and tradeoffs in the implantations of NDC. Mapping the potential provision of ecosystem services (sources), their users, and biophysical features that can deplete service flows (sinks) using ecological process models, and also the capability of a landscape to provide a variety of ecosystem services, such as agricultural production, erosion control, carbon sequestration, flood mitigation, and habitat provision is my innovative approach.
Finally, different national and international organizations should be committed to fund and technically support NDC’s plans and projections to contribute more to forest-based nature conservation. I strongly recommend and agree that considering the above points will minimize burdens on forest resources.

[Mezgebu Senbeto]

Hello everyone, am very happy to join this interesting group. My name is Mezgebu Senbeto Duguma from Ethiopia. I am a researcher at Oromia Agricultural Research Institute.
I am working on restoration activities where nature-based solutions are very critical in. However, I have understood that forest resources-based NDC is less implemented in Ethiopia, especially restorative agricultural lands, wetlands, and woody/grasslands are not well considered in the national document.

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