Sesemat is an exclosure located in the Dogu'a Tembien ''woreda'' of the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. The area has been protected since 1993 by the local community. Sesemat exclosure 5

Timeline

* 1993: established as exclosure by the community * 2017: support by the EthioTrees project Sesemat exclosure 2

Environmental characteristics

* Area: 46 ha * Average slope gradient: 24% * Aspect: the exclosure is oriented towards the northeast * Minimum altitude: 1943 metres * Maximum altitude: 2055 metres * Lithology: Antalo Limestone

Management

As a general rule, cattle ranging and wood harvesting are not allowed. The grasses are harvested once yearly and taken to the homesteads of the village to feed livestock. There are two guards to protect the exclosure. Field observations showed that however some illegal grazing occurred in the exclosure in 2018.

Benefits for the community

Setting aside such areas fits with the long-term vision of the communities were ''hiza’iti'' lands are set aside for use by the future generations. It has also direct benefits for the community: * improved ground water availability *

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

production * climate ameliorator (temperature, moisture) * the sequestered carbon (in total 67 tonnes per ha, dominantly sequestered in the soil, and additionally in the woody vegetation) is certified using the Plan Vivo voluntary carbon standard,EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website
/ref> after which carbon credits are sold * the revenues are then reinvested in the villages, according to the priorities of the communities; it may be for an additional class in the village school, a water pond, or conservation in the exclosures.

Biodiversity

With vegetation growth, biodiversity in this exclosure hast strongly improved: there is more varied vegetation and

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

. Particularly, key bird species include black-winged lovebird, blue-breasted bee-eater,

Hemprich's hornbill Hemprich's hornbill (''Lophoceros hemprichii'') is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is found in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda. Habitat As observed in the Degua Tembien district of north ...

, black-billed barbet, Abyssinian Woodpecker,

African paradise flycatcher The African paradise flycatcher (''Terpsiphone viridis'') is a medium-sized passerine bird. The two central tail feathers of the male are extended into streamers that commonly are more than twice as long as the body. The female tail feathers are ...

and

montane white-eye Heuglin's white-eye (''Zosterops poliogastrus''), also known as the Ethiopian white-eye (formerly the montane white-eye), is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is found in north-eastern and eastern Africa, primarily in Ethiopia and ...

. At dusk the exclosure and surrounding grazing land are good sites to see

spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

References

{{reflist, 32em

External links

EthioTrees on Davines website

EthioTrees project website

EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website

Link For Forestry Projects
1993 establishments in Ethiopia Exclosures of Tigray Region Dogu'a Tembien Environment of Ethiopia