The forest resources of Ethiopia consist of natural forests, plantation forests and trees on farms. Currently, there are three types of forest ownership in Ethiopia: federal government forests; regional government forests; and private forests (see Table 1). These forests supply local people with forest products such as: fuelwood; construction materials; and other intangible benefits. The industrial forest plantations consist of both softwoods and hardwoods. Most of the hardwood plantations are in peri-urban areas and are mainly used to supply fuelwood and poles to urban enterprises. The main objective of the softwood plantations is to provide industrial roundwood (mostly sawlogs) to forest processors.
Table
1 The forest resources of Ethiopia by
type and ownership (average 1996-1999)
|
Type of forest |
Government |
Community |
Private |
Total |
|
Industrial forest
plantations |
76,050 |
0 |
0 |
76,050 |
|
Non-industrial
forest plantations |
99,664 |
79,500 |
0 |
179,164 |
|
Total – all forest plantations |
175,714 |
79,500 |
0 |
255,214 |
|
Natural forests |
34,995 |
0 |
79,500 |
114,495 |
Note: all figures are in
hectares. Non-industrial forest plantations are forest plantations used to
produce poles and fuelwood. Most of the areas included as “natural forests”
above have very low forest cover and are classified as “other wooded land” in
FAO’s Global Forest Resource Assessment.
The contribution of forestry to Ethiopia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is significant. However, the contribution has been underestimated due to a lack of data. In addition, the non-market value of the forest resource is not known. For example, the national accounts do not include the value of non-market forest products produced each year and the value of the environmental and social services provided by Ethiopia’s trees and forests.
The first charges for logs of different types from natural forests were set in 1979 after the nationalisation of all land and forests over 80 hectares in size. These charges were applied to all forests owned by the government and were set by the former Forestry Development and Conservation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture. The charges were mainly stumpage fees for standing trees or charges for trees cut by Department and transported to the roadside.
These charges varied by tree species, tree diameter at breast height (dbh) and the location of the sale (i.e. standing in the forest or at the roadside). Examples of some of the charges are given in Table 2. The charges also varied according to the distance of the forest from the capital Addis Ababa (see Table 3). These charges were applied from 1979 to 1990.
Table 2 An example of some of the forest charges applied from 1979 to 1990, showing the variation in charges by species
|
Tree species |
Stumpage charge for standing trees |
Charge for trees cut and extracted to the
roadside |
||
|
Birr/m3 |
US$/m3 |
Birr/m3 |
US$/m3 |
|
|
Podocarpus gracilior |
19 |
3.80 |
34 |
6.80 |
|
Juniperus procera |
27 |
5.40 |
42 |
8.40 |
|
Eucalyptus spp. |
20 |
4.00 |
21 |
4.20 |
|
Hagenia abyssinica |
38 |
7.60 |
53 |
10.60 |
|
Olea africana |
27 |
5.40 |
42 |
8.40 |
|
Croton machrostachys |
6 |
1.20 |
21 |
4.20 |
Table 3 An example of the forest charges applied from 1979 to 1990, showing the variation in charges according to distance from Addis Ababa
|
Location |
Stumpage charge for standing trees |
Charge for trees cut and extracted to the
roadside |
||
|
Birr/m3 |
US$/m3 |
Birr/m3 |
US$/m3 |
|
|
Podocarpus species with a diameter of 40 cm dbh, located 200 km from Addis Ababa |
25 |
5.00 |
40 |
8.00 |
|
Podocarpus species with a diameter of 40 cm dbh, located 470 km from Addis Ababa |
23 |
4.60 |
38 |
7.60 |
In 1990, the first forest products pricing and marketing study was conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture (Ministry of Agriculture, 1990a and 1990b) in collaboration with the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (SIDA). Some of the conclusions of the study were as follows:
Natural forests carry no silvicultural costs and are often thought to be an inexpensive source of roundwood. However, the charges paid for roundwood from forests owned by the government are very low compared to roundwood production costs and the costs of management and replanting. Indeed, the revenue collected from roundwood production in government forests is not enough to cover the costs of management and replanting.
For many years, the charges set by the government have been arbitrary and have not considered what a more realistic level of charges should be.
Charges paid by the private sector for the use of government forests are fixed, while forest products are sold at free market prices. In recent years, the prices of processed forest products have increased while the charges for roundwood have not changed.
As a result of this study, the charges for roundwood were updated in 1990 and again in 1993 (see Table 4). From 1990, the Forestry Department only sold standing trees and charged users stumpage fees for harvesting trees in government forests. As before, these charges were based on the size (dbh) of trees, tree species, the location of the forest and the distance from the forest to the urban centres. Thus, again, these charges were not the same in all locations in the country.
Table 4 Some examples of the stumpage charges applied from 1990 to 1993 and 1993 to 1995
|
Tree species |
Charges from 1990 – 1993 (in Birr/m3) |
Charges from 1993 – 1995 (in Birr/m3) |
|
Podocarpus gracilior |
37 |
120 |
|
Juniperus procera |
31 |
82 |
|
Hagenia abyssinica |
37 |
120 |
The last time that forest charges were changed was 1995 and examples of the stumpage charges levied in Gambella and Oromiya states from 1995 until now are shown in Table 5. Again, these charges vary by tree species and region.
Table 5 Stumpage fees for harvesting in government forests in Gambella and Oromiya states (1995 to present)
|
Tree species |
Stumpage charge in Gambella state (in Birr/m3) |
Stumpage charge in Oromiya state (in Birr/m3) |
|
Chlorophora excelsa |
88 |
292 |
|
Memosops kummel |
88 |
292 |
|
Polyscia ferruginea |
66 |
292 |
|
Croton machrostachys |
66 |
292 |
|
Aningeria adolfi-fredericii |
78 |
292 |
Now that some government functions in Ethiopia have been decentralised, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture can not set stumpage charges in states and this has resulted in different approaches to setting stumpage charges in each of the states. For example, in Gambella state, charges vary by tree species and quality, with the highest stumpage charges for logs with the highest market demand. On the other hand, in Oromiya State, a minimum stumpage charge of 292 Birr/m3 is levied for all indigenous tree species. Not only is this much higher than in Gambella, but it should also be noted that this is just a minimum and that the final stumpage charge is decided by auction. There have been reports from Oromiya State that stumpage prices achieved at auctions can reach up to 700 Birr/m3 for the most desirable sales of logs.
The stumpage charges for some other minor forest products produced in government forests are shown in Table 6 and Table 7.
Table 6 Stumpage fees for roundwood harvested from government forests for charcoal production
|
Tree species |
Stumpage
fee until October 1993 (in
Birr per stacked cubic metre) |
Stumpage
fee since October 1993 (in
Birr per stacked cubic metre) |
|
Acacia |
13 |
35 |
|
Albizia |
13 |
25 |
|
Aningeria |
13 |
24 |
|
Apodytes |
13 |
35 |
|
Pinus |
4 |
4 |
Table 7 Stumpage fees and taxes for construction, telephone and transmission poles harvested from government forest plantations (1990 to present)
|
Pole length |
Stumpage fee (in Birr/pole) |
Tax (service charge) (in Birr/pole) |
|
4 m pole |
0.15 |
-... |
|
6 m pole |
0.16 |
0.04 |
|
7 m pole |
2.60 |
0.60 |
|
9 m pole |
3.64 |
0.84 |
|
11 m pole |
4.68 |
1.08 |
|
13 m pole |
5.73 |
1.32 |
|
15 m pole |
6.81 |
1.56 |
|
17 m pole |
7.79 |
1.80 |
|
18 m pole |
8.33 |
1.92 |
Originally, a charge of 40 percent was levied on the value of roundwood sold from private forests. Harvesting in private forests was licensed, and this was considered as a service charge to be paid instead of stumpage fees. Forestry officials used to check for licences and permits and impose charges at checkpoints on roads. Nowadays, the movement of roundwood, sawnwood and wood-based panels is not strictly controlled and these checkpoints have been lifted. Thus, there is a free movement of forest products and these charges are no longer collected.
Some of the most important non-wood forest products (NWFPs) in Ethiopia are natural gum products (used to produce incense), which include the following: gum arabic; gum olibanum; gum oppoponex; and gum myrrh. In addition, bamboo and honey products are also significant NWFPs (for further details, see Deffar, 1998).
Until 1992, the Natural Gum Production and Marketing Enterprise (a parastatal company) was the sole government producer and distributor of incense to both domestic and international markets. Nowadays, it largely depends on nomadic pastoralists, private concessionaires and individual traders to supply it with incense. The enterprise uses a system of contracts with these suppliers who collect the incense in return for the payment a fixed price. The enterprise then covers the other costs of cleaning, processing, transporting and marketing the gum and incense products.
There are seven different grades of incense in Ethiopia and representatives of the enterprise grade the products when they are purchased from suppliers. The prices paid to suppliers depend on the grade of the product. For example, the prices paid to suppliers for incense of grades 4 and 5 vary from 5 to 8 Birr per kilogram and the retail price of the same grades of incense vary from 5 to 20 Birr per kilogram. Most of the natural gum products produced in Ethiopia are exported to other countries, but low quality products are sold in the domestic market for local consumption.
The enterprise pays a royalty fee to the forest administration in each state for the harvesting of gum. These royalties are also based on the grades of products that are harvested. Examples of the royalties paid for gum and other NWFPs are shown in Table 8.
Table 8 Royalties paid for the harvesting of gums and other NWFPs in 1990
|
Commodity |
Quality |
Royalty Birr/kg |
|
Kerbie/gum |
1 |
3.50 |
|
Incense |
1 |
4.80 |
|
Incense |
2 |
2.30 |
|
Incense |
3 |
0.30 |
|
Honey |
n.a. |
3.31 |
|
Gesho |
n.a. |
0.49 |
In most forest areas, local people also collect honey from hives in the trees. There are not any charges on this production.
Charges in the wildlife sector are levied in national parks and for the hunting and export of live animals. Charges levied in national parks include: entrance fees; camping fees; and charges for taking vehicles into the national parks. Camping and entrance fees vary according to nationality, age and the residency status of the visitor (i.e. foreign tourist or resident foreigner). Vehicle fees are based on the size of the vehicles entering national parks. In addition, where aircraft are used for ecotourism in national parks, charges (based on the number of engines) are paid for landing and take-off. These charges are determined by staff of the wildlife service and are summarised in Table 9 and Table 10 below.
Table 9 Camping and entrance fees charged in national parks (1993 to present)
|
Type of change |
Entrance fee (in Birr/visit) |
Camping fee (in Birr/night) |
|
Ethiopian citizens Adults Children |
3 2 |
2 2 |
|
Resident foreigners Adults Children |
30 30 |
20 5 |
|
Tourists Adults Children |
50 50 |
20 5 |
Table 10 Entrance fees for taking vehicles into national parks (1993 to present)
|
Entrance fee for vehicles |
Charge (in Birr) |
Landing/take-off fee for aircraft |
Charge (in Birr) |
|
Up to five seats |
10 |
One-engined aircraft |
20 |
|
Between 5 and 12 seats |
15 |
Two-engined aircraft |
10 |
|
Above 12 seats |
20 |
Hunting fees are another sources of revenue for the forestry sector. A quota system is used to limit the number of animals that can be hunted. These quotas are based on the abundance of different species. The numbers of rare wild animals that may be hunted are fixed each year (e.g. these quotas are currently: 9 lions per year; 6 leopards per year; 15 Chilada baboons per year; 27 Nyala per year, etc.). The charges for hunting wild animals also vary by species (see Table 11 below).
Table 11 Charges levied for hunting wild animals (1993 to present)
|
Species |
Annual quota (number of animals) |
Hunting charge (US$ per animal) |
|
Lion |
9 |
2,000 |
|
Leopard |
6 |
2,300 |
|
Chilada baboon |
15 |
1,000 |
|
Nyala |
27 |
5,000 |
There are no specific forest charges on the production of processed forest products such as sawnwood, wood-based panels and paper products. Rather, charges are levied on the wood raw materials used to make these products (as already described above). However, a general sales tax is levied on the sale of processed forest products. Currently, this tax is levied at a rate of five percent of the value of all sales.
There are also no specific forest charges on trade in processed forest products. Customs duties are levied on some products, but no duty is charged on imported lumber. This policy has been implemented to provide an incentive to import lumber.
The Forestry Department also collects revenue from a range of other charges including the following:
Fines and penalties. There are a number of forestry laws and regulations concerning forestry conservation, development and utilisation. For example, nobody is allowed to harvest forest products without written permission from the Ministry of Agriculture or the appropriate regional body. Fines and penalties can be levied if such forest laws and regulations are not followed.
Sales of seized products. Forest products that are produced illegally can be confiscated and sold by the government. Such products are often sold by auction and official receipts are issued for these sales.
Sales of seedlings. Seedlings produced by state owned nurseries are sold in the open market.
The money collected from such charges is deposited in the usual account for forest revenues.
The use of forest land for any other purpose also requires the user to pay an annual tax on the land. This tax is the same as for any other type of land used for such purposes.
