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Pastoralists in Ethiopia have used fire for centuries to maintain the health of the grasslands where their animals graze, burning the land to allow grass to regenerate
But an Ethiopian government ban on burning in the 1970’s has resulted in grasslands there being choked by encroaching trees and shrubs and deteriorating in grazing quality — threatening food security in a country often ravaged by famine.
That's why the Nature Conservancy's Global Fire Initiative is contributing expertise to an Ethiopian fire project led by the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The project works with the Ethiopian government and other organizations to help re-educate communities there on the role of fire in maintaining productive landscapes.
Bringing Back Memories of Land Management by Fire
Scott Moats, northwest Iowa preserves manager based at the Conservancy's Broken Kettle Grasslands, recently joined the project to contribute his skills and experience related to controlled burns. Scott is one of hundreds of fire-trained Conservancy staff who burn about 100,000 acres each year on Conservancy preserves and partner lands.
Moats arrived in Ethiopia on a dry and hot day at the start of March this year. The first burn was scheduled to take place in Negelle, a village located a day-and-a-half’s travel south of the capital, Addis Ababa. On arrival, Scott and other team members met with the local pastoralists who would be involved in the burn.
“We met with them under the shade of large acacia trees and shared our plans," says Moats. "They were very excited to be involved in the project. Some of the older people remembered when fire used to be part of the way they managed their lands. Knowing the benefits it had brought their lands and animals, they were eager to begin with the burn.”
Weather conditions the next day prevented a full-scale burn. But the delay allowed Scott and the rest of the team to train the pastoralists on the important aspects of fire safety, weather monitoring and planning that enable fires to take place in a safe and controlled environment.
“I was really impressed by the community’s collaborative approach to fire management," Moats says. "Before we had even arrived, the community had agreed which areas would be burned and had worked together to move some huts away from the burn zone.”
Better weather conditions the following day enabled a demonstration burn to be carried out. Again, local pastoralists were central to the effort, putting into practice techniques and skills they had learned in order to carry out a successful controlled burn.
“They were really pleased with the results, and were already planning their next controlled burn on their lands as we left,” says Moats.
Transferring Lessons from the Great Plains
Moats adds that the success of these burns will have effects that reach out across the country.
“We were working with a wide range of partners from all levels of Ethiopian society," he says. "By imbedding good fire practices at many different levels, we can help ensure that fire is reestablished as a land management tool. Local government officials spent up to four days traveling from remote parts of the country to attend the demonstration burns. They will now take this learning back to their areas and help train communities there”.
The project also demonstrates how conservation knowledge can be transferred across continents.
“The problems facing the grasslands in Ethiopia are very similar to those facing the Great Plains,” Moats says. “Ranchers in the Midwest stopped burning about 30 years ago, leading to exactly the same type of grassland degeneration as I saw in Ethiopia."
"The same approach we’ve used in the United States — working with a range of partners, providing training, carrying out demonstration burns and engaging private landowners to adopt new practices — works just as well in Ethiopia.”
Indeed, grasslands are one of the least protected major habitat types in the world. Helping ranchers and pastoralists to better conserve these lands can protect livelihoods and preserve precious ecosystems. From Iowa , to Ethiopia, to Mexico, the Conservancy and their partners are working to restore fire’s natural role in preserving and maintaining these vital landscapes.
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Scott Moats/TNC (Smoke rises as the controlled burn begins); Photo © Scott Moats/TNC (The project team meets with locals beneath acacia trees); Photo © Tim Sexton (An international exchange of conservation knowledge - Scott Moats on left).
