Who Burn Oromian forests?

By Adugna Dinka

In a brief short news, the website called ‘ayyaantuu.com’ posted the burning of UNESCO registered Yayu Forest of Iluu Abbaa Boor, Oromia on its facebook account. According to the information, the forest fire was raging for the last two weeks without getting any attention from Government or public officials. It is said that the government has blocked all media outlets from reporting about the forest fire while it was supposed to try to extinguish the fire. Effort (the business wing of the ruling party) is also reported as a culprit of deforestation as part of its coal mining activity in the area. This reminds me about how the government of Ethiopia burn down the forest of Boorana and Gujii zones back in 2000.

In the year 2000, a forest fire happened in the then Boorana zone of Oromia (Gujii and Boorana zone of today). In addition to the forest fire of Boorana, there was also a huge forest fire in Bale zone. In Boorana zone the forest fire occurred in Areero and Manqubsa (Nagelle) forests. While in Gujii zone the forest fire happened in Shakiso, Adoola, wadera and Bore forests. The fire was intense in Areeroo, Nagelle and shakkisoo. It almost completely burnt out the forest of manqubsa(nagelle), and devastated the Areeroo  and shakkisoo forests.

There are multiple reasons for the burning of the forest that time.  The government of Ethiopia claims that OLF guerilla fighters reside in the forest. The other reasons were the mining process of shakkisoo and the then investment activity. It is true that OLF fighters take shelter in the forest but this can’t be the reason to burn it. And this was the main reason that Areeroo and manqubsa forests were dealt with.

The mining activity of shakkisoo was the other reason. Mineral exploitation, especially Gold mining and exploration needs to clear the forest. In addition to these, the company needed a place to ditch toxic waste.

Extinguishing this fire took more than three months and it was the arrival of the rainy season that helped to extinguish the fire completely. But at the early stage of the fire, there was no attention from the government or officials, only agricultural department was making an effort to extinguish the fire. Just like yayu forest fire of today, there was no media coverage during the early stage of the fire. Luckily there were many NGOs in the zone and they get the word out to international media.

It was after it gets international media coverage that the government organized a team from Federal agricultural office and the military and dispatched them. But the issue was no more a regional or national issue; it became a global issue as main international media outlets started giving analysis of the effect of the forest fire. They put it clearly that it affects not only east Africa, but also global. Some estimated the forest fire can affect 50 million people directly in the sub-continent.

It was after this that professional fire fighters arrive from South Africa. The South African started to monitor the fire from air. They monitored the whole southern Ethiopia from Bale to Arba minchi, while the fire fighters were stationed in Shakkisoo.

Nationally, it gets momentum and media outlets started covering about the forest fire. University students started arriving from different universities and colleges. Regionally, the people and government workers put a great effort to put out the fire.

But what is very interesting was what the farmers (local people) say. They say it is Impossible to extinguish this fire. What they say was, while people put out the fire day time, there is somebody or group who put on the fire during the night. When people extinguish the fire day time at one place, the next morning they find an intense fire at the same location.

The TPLF led Ethiopian government doesn't totally care about the natural resources in Oromia. The UNESCO registered Yayu forest is facing the same fate of the Boorana-Gujii forests. The land or the soil underneath the forest might be needed for some purpose. It may be used to fulfill investment interest of TPLF.

It is said that the deforestation and burning of Yayu forest of Oromia is to build Tigray. The huge coal deposit beneath the forest is the main reason to burn down the forest. It was also said that the big tigrean companies like EFFORT has already moved to the area to make as much money as they can.

 The UNESCO registered Yayu forest

If there is no media coverage at local or national level, and if there is no government effort to extinguish the fire at local, regional or national level, for sure there will be a conspiracy to deal with the forest, so that the land can be available for some other purposes. The soil under the forest is favorable for any mechanized agriculture. This fits the government policy of leasing land for foreign investors or Tigrean based national investors.

 yayu forest

It is not late for the Oromos to save their forest of Yayu. Oromos in diaspora must make an effort to put the news in the hand of international media. We have to get the news to concerned international bodies, which of course UNESCO itself is the main. Other international conservation based organizations must also get the information. It is only these organizations and the international media who can influence the Ethiopian government to make an effort to extinguish the UNESCO registered Yayu forest fire of Oromia.

Some countries and international organizations blindly help the Ethiopian government without analysis of what the Ethiopian government is doing to its natural resources. It is not fair to provide support before ensuring whether the government is doing its job in the interest of the people, which in this case is protecting the natural forest of the country. One good example is the participation of Norway and United Kingdom in the project of climate resilient green economy (CRGE) in Ethiopia in which they agreed to provide multi-layer support. To the contrary, the Ethiopian government is not in a position to protect and conserve the existing natural forest.  It is difficult to recovery from climatic change or adapt to the change in any means through CRGE unless the existing natural forests are protected. 

By Adugna Dinka (re_appear1@yahoo.co.uk)