Forgotten Forests? Food Potential of Ancient Coffee Forests and Agroforestry Systems in the Southwestern Ethiopian Mountains, Seen Through a Gender Lens

• Main Authors: Sarah Marie Nischalke, Mulunesh Abebe, Beneberu Assefa Wondimagegnhu, Simone Kathrin Kriesemer, Tina Beuchelt
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Mountain Society 2017-08-01
• Series: Mountain Research and Development
• Subjects: Yayu Biosphere Reserve; biodiversity; non-timber forest products; forests as a food source; agroforestry; indigenous vegetables; gender; coffee; Sustainable Development Goals; Agenda 2030
• Online Access: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-16-00096.1

Forests play an important role in the provision of food and livelihoods across the globe. Thus, forest protection contributes to a diverse set of Sustainable Development Goals. The Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve in the southwestern Ethiopian mountains (elevation 1100–2300 m above sea level) hosts an ancient coffee forest with high biodiversity and a large nutritional potential. It is managed in zones, and smallholder farmers can still use forest resources in the buffer and transitional zones in a sustainable manner. The forest is rarely used as a food source, although a large majority of the population in this area suffers from micronutrient deficiencies. This article investigates whether sustainable use of forest resources can contribute to the achievement of different Sustainable Development Goals by looking, through a gender lens, at which forest ecosystem services the community uses; traditional coffee farmers' perceptions of wild edible plants, agricultural territories, and labor divisions; and the constraining factors for forest conservation and sustainable agroforestry on private forest plots. Data for this study were collected through ethnography, transect walks, a sex-disaggregated household survey (n = 334), 32 semistructured interviews, 40 focus groups, and 13 key stakeholder interviews. One reason for neglecting the forest as a food source is that forests are considered a male territory, while vegetable raising and nutrition are female responsibilities. In addition, the collection of wild foods is perceived as a last resort during a famine and as a practice of tribal groups. Because coffee production represents the traditional livelihood source, farmers accept the need to conserve the forest, which is necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. While it may have negative implications for food security, the absence of a tradition of collecting wild plants is positive news for forest conservation.