We are pleased to share a policy brief produced by Tsion Fikadu Nigussie, a current student in the SPIBES East Africa programme. The brief, titled Integrated Socio-Ecological Landscape Modelling Using InVEST and the IPBES Nature Futures Framework (NFF): the Case of Entoto Mountain Forest, Ethiopia, was written as part of her MSc research and reflects her own findings and recommendations.
About the brief
The Entoto Forest, situated in Ethiopia’s central highlands at elevations between 2,598 and 3,025 metres above sea level, covers 13,000 hectares spanning Addis Ababa and Sheger City. As a critical component of the city’s urban green infrastructure, it provides biodiversity conservation, urban climate and flood regulation, and cultural and recreational benefits. Yet decades of urban expansion and agricultural encroachment have taken a significant toll on the forest’s ecological integrity. Tsion’s brief assesses the current state of the forest’s biodiversity and ecosystem services, and integrates stakeholder perspectives through the IPBES Nature Futures Framework to inform future management planning.
Key findings
Tsion’s research recorded 64 tree and shrub species from 34 families across 20 sample plots, with natural forests showing substantially higher biodiversity than eucalyptus plantation forests — a statistically significant difference across species diversity, richness, and evenness. The InVEST habitat quality model found that 937 hectares had high habitat quality, while 637 hectares provided no habitat at all. Total forest carbon storage was estimated at more than 1.11 million MtC, with natural forests accounting for 86.8% of that total. Stakeholder analysis revealed that communities primarily value the forest for tourism and direct social benefits, with greater awareness still needed of its intrinsic ecological importance.
Recommendations
Based on her findings, Tsion calls for a coordinated cross-boundary forest management strategy that balances biodiversity conservation with community needs, the exploration of carbon market mechanisms to support long-term financing, and stronger collaboration among government agencies, communities, and development partners. She also recommends assessing the forest’s potential for recognition as an IUCN Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measure (OECM), which could contribute to Ethiopia’s biodiversity goals and the global 30×30 conservation target.
You can download Tsion’s full policy brief below:
