Forest and forestry in Gondär, (Ethiopia) from 1938 to 1991: utilization, opportunities and constraints

Recent investigations on man’s interaction with the natural environment try to show the long-term environmental shift and the challenges faced by people in the respective areas. One of the big issues in the course of the environmental theme of Ethiopia in the sub region of Amhara, Gondär, is the study of forest and forestry. Although there is no study of the different government policies and gradual historical variation of forest and its management in Gondär, from the Italian occupation to the downfall of the socialist government in Ethiopia in 1991, the forest passed several ups and downs, just like human political history. Reforestation and deforestation were the fates of forests interchangeable in Gondär. This essay’s objectives are to review forest and forestry from a historical perspective from 1938 to the 1990s, to equate and counterpoint different governmental decrees on the forest, and to examine socio-economic and environmental opportunities and the constraints they faced for the people of the study area. This study implies a qualitative approach to data gathering. In this regard, both primary and secondary data sources were utilized. It tried to dig out the neglected course of the town’s environmental history. Therefore, it’s believed that the study adds knowledge and understanding about forests and forestry in Gondär and can be a source for future researchers on the topic under study.