The EWCP is the principal employer in the town of Dinsho, seat of the Bale Mountains National Park headquarters. The programme currently employs 25 full-time staff (21 of whom are from communities within the wolf‘s range), and over 50 casual workers involved in various activities including administration, construction, maintenance, dog vaccination, education, community liaison and field research. The income derived from their employment is also the main source of income for their extended families. The consequence is that the local economy is dependent on the presence of the EWCP. Direct employment not only creates economic opportunities within these communities but increases environmental awareness and programme support. ‘Wolf Day‘, the annual (and only) sports event in Bale fosters the goodwill of the community at large. In addition to the festivities of the day, money raised in last year‘s raffle paid for connection of the local elementary school to the village water supply. Forums with the elders and leaders from the local administration are organized to reinforce the work of the programme and to seek the continued support of the local authorities and people.

EWCP champions wildlife conservation throughout Ethiopia and is active in conservation at an ecosystem level, acting as a focal point both nationally and internationally for all conservation matters. In a major coup, EWCP recently led the initiative to include the Ethiopian Highlands as a Biodiversity Hotspot.

In this process EWCP emphasizes the need for community involvement in developing sustainable management strategies for the Afro-alpine areas inhabited by the Ethiopian wolf. As a direct result of EWCP leverage, Frankfurt Zoological Society has committed to supporting conservation in the Bale Mountains. Other examples of leverage include a coalition of international donors planning to fund a sustainable use project, aimed at conserving the unique biodiversity and ecological functions of the Bale Mountains ecosystem in harmony with enhanced local community livelihoods.

Similar steps are being taken in Menz, a very important area for the Ethiopian wolf in northern Ethiopia. There, EWCP has been instrumental in reviving the ancient natural resource management system in the Guassa. Although Menz has no formal protected area status, a unique indigenous natural resource management system existed for several hundred years. Under EWCP mentoring, the system is working again and, consequently, protecting the Afroalpine grasslands in the area. A workshop attended by people from the local communities surrounding the Guassa area, the regional and federal governments, and NGOs led to the EWCP being granted the mandate to develop a draft management plan for the area.

EWCP‘s commitment to building the capacity of Ethiopian institutions and people is reflected in its training work. Four MSc students have been trained at Addis Ababa University and carried out their thesis work with EWCP; one MSc student was trained in the UK; EWCP scientists are currently working with two PhD candidates and one BSc student, have taught wildlife conservation and management at Wondo Genet Forestry College, given GIS training to staff of the Wildlife Conservation Department, and mentor and train EWCP staff to become leaders of conservation within Ethiopia. A senior member of EWCP staff received a Darwin Biodiversity Scholarship from the UK government, which recognizes outstanding biodiversity experts in developing countries.

The EWCP is pursuing a number of other outreach activities including ecotourism, training and capacity building, and expansion of the education campaign. In recognition that tourism linked to the Ethiopian wolf and other wildlife can bring benefits to local communities, the EWCP promotes tourism in wolf ranges providing trekking huts, training guides, stipulating guidelines, and publishing leaflets, guidebooks and trekking maps. The EWCP also has an active role in the newly formed Ethiopian Forum for Community-based Tourism.

Capacity building is an important priority for the EWCP and includes training conservation biologists to at least Masters level, veterinarians in vaccination and surgical techniques, park scouts in their role in protected areas, and tourist guides in sustainable ecotourism. In addition to the community assessments undertaken as part of the ongoing education campaign, the EWCP has undertaken an assessment of school and college curricula to identify where there is a need for improvement in environmental education. All of these endeavours exemplify the EWCP‘s holistic approach to conservation.


Relevant publication

Williams, S.D., Vivero Pol, J.L., Spawls, S., Shimelis, A. & Kelbessa, E. (2004). Ethiopian highlands. In: Hotspots revisited: earth‘s biologically richest and most endangered ecoregions, second edition. Eds. R.A. Mittermeier, P. Robles-Gil, M. Hoffmann, J.D. Pilgrim, T.M. Brooks, C.G. Mittermeier, J.L. Lamoreux & G. Fonseca. Cemex: Mexico.



© EWCP 2005 - A WildCRU endeavour in parternishp with Ethiopia's Wildlife Conservation Authority and Regional Governments.
Chiefly funded by Born Free. Under the aegis of IUCN/SCC Canid Specialist Group.