Sesemat (exclosure)

Sesemat is an exclosure located in the Dogu'a Tembien woreda of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The area has been protected since 1993 by the local community.[1]

Sesemat exclosure

Sesemat exclosure
Sesemat exclosure
LocationAddi Azmera municipality, in Dogu’a Tembien district, Ethiopia
Nearest cityHagere Selam
Coordinates13.63°N 39.322°E / 13.63; 39.322
Area46 ha (110 acres)
Established1993
Websitehttps://ethiotrees.com

Timeline[1]
  • 1993: established as exclosure by the community
  • 2017: support by the EthioTrees project

Environmental characteristics[1]
  • 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.[1]

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[2]:

  • improved ground water availability
  • honey 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)[1] is certified using the Plan Vivo voluntary carbon standard,[3] 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.[4]

Biodiversity
Vegetation regrowth in Sesemat exclosure

With vegetation growth, biodiversity in this exclosure hast strongly improved: there is more varied vegetation and wildlife. Particularly, key bird species include black-winged lovebird, blue-breasted bee-eater, Hemprich's hornbill, black-billed barbet, Abyssinian Woodpecker, African paradise flycatcher and montane white-eye. At dusk the exclosure and surrounding grazing land are good sites to see spotted hyenas.[5]

gollark: There really is a Nobody, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Nobody is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Nobody is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Nobody added, or GNU/Nobody. All the so-called "Nobody" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Nobody.
gollark: Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called "Nobody", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.
gollark: I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Nobody, is in fact, GNU/Nobody, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Nobody. Nobody is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.
gollark: SCP. Three. One. Two. Five.
gollark: Again, it was *SCP-3125*, Nobody.

References
  1. De Deyn, Jonathan (2019). Benefits of reforestation on Carbon storage and water infiltration in the context of climate mitigation in North Ethiopia. Master thesis, Ghent University.
  2. Jacob, M. and colleagues (2019). Exclosures as Primary Option for Reforestation in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
  3. EthioTrees on Plan Vivo website
  4. Reubens, B. and colleagues (2019). Research-based development projects in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
  5. Aerts, R.; Lerouge, F.; November, E. (2019). Birds of forests and open woodlands in the highlands of Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
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