Montane Rainforest With Wild Coffea Arabica In The Bonga Region Sw Ethiopia

"Enchanting . . . An absorbing narrative of politics, ecology, and economics."--New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice) Located between the Great Rift Valley and the Nile, the cloud forests in southwestern Ethiopia are the original home of Arabica, the most prevalent and superior of the two main species of coffee being cultivated today. Virtually unknown to European explorers, the Kafa region was essentially off-limits to foreigners well into the twentieth century, which allowed the world's original coffee culture to develop in virtual isolation in the forests where the Kafa people continue to forage for wild coffee berries. Deftly blending in the long, fascinating history of our favorite drink, award-winning author Jeff Koehler takes readers from these forest beginnings along the spectacular journey of its spread around the globe. With cafés on virtually every corner of every town in the world, coffee has never been so popular--nor tasted so good. Yet diseases and climate change are battering production in Latin America, where 85 percent of Arabica grows. As the industry tries to safeguard the species' future, breeders are returning to the original coffee forests, which are under threat and swiftly shrinking. "The forests around Kafa are not important just because they are the origin of a drink that means so much to so many," writes Koehler. "They are important because deep in their shady understory lies a key to saving the faltering coffee industry. They hold not just the past but also the future of coffee." "A must-read for coffee enthusiasts."--Smithsonian (Best of the Year) "Reads like an engaging multimystery detective novel."--Wall Street Journal "Fascinating . . . How a local crop transformed into a global commodity."--Real Simple (Best of the Month) Coffee is one of the largest and most valuable commodities in the world. This is the story of its origins, its history, and the threat to its future, by the IACP Award–winning author of Darjeeling.

Forest degradation as a result of logging, shifting cultivation, agriculture and urban development is a major issue throughout the tropics. It leads to loss in soil fertility, water resources and biodiversity, as well as contributes to climate change. Efforts are therefore required to try to minimize further degradation and restore tropical forests in a sustainable way. This is the first research-based book to examine this problem in East Africa. The specific focus is on the forests of Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda, but the lessons learned are shown to be applicable to neighbouring countries and others in the tropics. A wide range of forest types are covered, from dry Miombo forest and afromontane forests, to forest-savannah mosaics and wet forest types. Current management practices are assessed and examples of good practice presented. The role of local people is also emphasized. The authors describe improved management and restoration through silviculture, plantation forestry and agroforestry, leading to improvements in timber production, biodiversity conservation and the livelihoods of local people.

Sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest region worldwide, has only recently begun to fully address the issues of meeting the water needs of its rapidly growing population, to reduce the deepening poverty besetting the region and to accelerate economic growth. The Nile Basin, characterized by sharp spatial and temporal variations in water resources and including countries with different economies, social and political structures and capacities, illustrates the challenges of developing and managing the waters of the Nile River and its tributaries, lakes and wetlands equitably among its 10 riparian countries. Ethiopia, the major source of the Nile but one of the poorest countries in the Nile Basin, has recently begun to implement plans to harness more Nile water through hydroelectric and irrigation development both for national use and for transboundary development as part of the Nile Basin Initiative. The Ethiopian government and communities, by using different management approaches and resources, are trying to boost water, energy and food production, strengthen conservation efforts and mitigate potential repercussions of water resources development. These initiatives and programs have not been comprehensively examined. In this study, the editors address these and other issues surrounding water resources management in all economic and water sectors in Ethiopia within the setting of the Nile Basin, the first comprehensive treatment of this subject. The wide scope of this book is consistent with the tenets of integrated water resources management, which demand that all water uses be managed in an integrated fashion for optimum and sustainable benefits to all water users, both humans and ecosystems. This book reveals the impacts of various resource management approaches and practices in Ethiopia and the Nile Basin. Specifically, it examines how deforestation and prevailing land use practices have exacerbated soil aridity and flood events, why irrigated agriculture and hydropower development have caused floodplain degradation, livelihood hardships and water-related diseases, where industrial and agricultural development is increasingly polluting water resources, how household water supplies can be obtained through rainwater harvesting and the dependence on hydropower reduced through alternative energy sources and how misguided government policies have impeded efforts to deal with these and other challenges. Results reveal dynamic interrelationships between these processes and identify the human and environmental driving forces, which must be understood in effective integrated water resources management. Another unique contribution of this book is the examination of the role of government and communities in managing water resources in Ethiopia. Results show that the top-down approach used by the socialist Derg government in soil and water conservation and social programs exacerbated water problems and reduced community participation. Moreover, the failure of its economic program reduced agricultural production, increasing dependency on relief food and further impeding community initiatives in soil and water conservation activities. Many elements of central planning persist in spite of the decentralization drive by the current government, but there is evidence that integration of the top-down and bottom-up approaches to water resources management is necessary (and feasible) to strengthen and up-scale programs to the national level. The book identifies a number of customary water and soil management practices and institutions that may strengthen especially community-based rainwater harvesting, small-scale irrigation, reforestation, soil and water conservation and flood control efforts. This is an important book for researchers and students of resources management, rural development, hydrology and African studies.

Wild crop relatives are now playing a significant part in the elucidation and improvement of the genomes of their cultivated counterparts. This work includes comprehensive examinations of the status, origin, distribution, morphology, cytology, genetic diversity and available genetic and genomic resources of numerous wild crop relatives, as well as of their evolution and phylogenetic relationship. Further topics include their role as model plants, genetic erosion and conservation efforts, and their domestication for the purposes of bioenergy, phytomedicines, nutraceuticals and phytoremediation. Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources comprises 10 volumes on Cereals, Millets and Grasses, Oilseeds, Legume Crops and Forages, Vegetables, Temperate Fruits, Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, Industrial Crops, Plantation and Ornamental Crops, and Forest Trees. It contains 125 chapters written by nearly 400 well-known authors from about 40 countries.

Solanum quitoense (Lulo) from the northern Andes is a fruit with an attractive taste. It has a high export potential but its production is hampered by insufficient pollination. Studies on the reproductive system of Lulo revealed that, due to their poricidal anthers, the flowers need pollinators for self- and cross-pollination. Pollination by native bumblebees significantly increases fruit set and quality. Experiments show that colonies of Bombus atratus can be reared in captivity and used in Lulo fields for providing increased pollination services. Modeling based on data on colony development reveal larva/workers ratio and the supply of pollen as main parameters for improving the rearing method.

Ethiopia is facing environmental and poverty challenges, and urgently needs effective management of its environmental resources. Much of the Ethiopian landscape has been significantly altered and reshaped by centuries of human activities, and three-quarters of the rural population is living on degraded land. Over the past two decades the country has seen rapid economic and population growth and unparalleled land use change. This book explores the challenges of sustaining the resource base while fuelling the economy and providing for a growing population that is greatly dependent on natural resources for income and livelihoods. Adopting a political ecology perspective, this book comprehensively examines human impacts on the environment in Ethiopia, defining the environment both in terms of the quantity and quality of renewable and non-renewable natural resources. With high levels of economic production and consumption also come unintended side effects: waste discharges, emissions of pollutants, and industrial effluents. These pollutants can degrade the quality of water, air, land, and forests as well as harm the health of people, animals, and other living organisms if untreated or disposed of improperly. This book demonstrates how the relationship between society and environment is inherently and delicately interwoven, providing an account of Ethiopia’s current environment and natural resource base and future considerations for environmentally sustainable development.

With a strong policy focus, the contributors synthesise the scientific approaches to PES, valuation, trade-offs, equity and the institutional requirements to operationalize a credible concept of economic value. The book also addresses the behavioral fo