Woody plant use and management in relation to property rights: a social-ecological case study from southwestern Ethiopia

Many people in less developed countries depend on woody plants, but sustainable management of woody plants often remains a challenge. We assessed people’s use, perceived property rights and management of woody plants in farmland and forests in a landscape of southwestern Ethiopia. We interviewed 180 households and surveyed woody plants in 192 plots. We found that 95 species were used for eleven major purposes. The majority of plants (52) were used for house construction followed by farming tools (42), fuelwood (38) and honey production (37). These benefits were sourced from farmland, forest with coffee management and forest without coffee management. Our study found that local people perceived land tenure security and tree use rights to be limited, especially for forests. We found abundant regeneration of the most widely used tree species in all land use types. However, some of these species, including important pole and timber species, appeared to be overharvested in forests. To improve biodiversity outcomes and sustainable use, it would be beneficial to recognize local people’s diverse needs for woody plants and grant them appropriate property rights. Conservation policies should encompass the entire landscape and empower local farmers to proactively manage tree populations while providing safeguards against overuse.