Biosphere Reserves Institute

For People and Nature - Establishment of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve at Lake Tana in Ethiopia

Together with the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union Germany (NABU), the Michael Succow Foundation is working closely with the Ethiopian government to establish a UNESCO biosphere reserve in the area of Ethiopia's Lake Tana over the next four years.

The 5,000-square-kilometer region with its approximately 3,000-square-kilometer lake area is the headwaters of the Blue Nile and of international importance for biodiversity and cultural landscape heritage. Intensive agriculture, large-scale land degradation, irrigation projects and hydropower plants pose great risks to the so-called "Riviera of Ethiopia" with its impressive waterfalls. A biosphere reserve is intended to protect original natural areas, preserve the region's cultural landscape heritage and create new sources of income for the population in the long term.

Lake Tana, Africa's highest lake and Ethiopia's largest, is the most important African wintering area for the European crane and numerous other waterfowl and songbirds. The area is home to hippos, crocodiles, monitor lizards, mountain pythons and 15 species of fish alone that are found nowhere else in the world. Many of the lake's 37 islands are home to Ethiopian Orthodox churches and monasteries. There, parts of the "church forests," locally considered sacred, have been preserved, with well over 100 species of trees and the northernmost wild coffee deposits in Ethiopia, the country of coffee's origin. Human intervention in the sensitive habitat is leading to ever-increasing environmental pressures. Already, almost half of the local population lives in abject poverty and is forced to overexploit their natural environment.

In preparation for the project, the Michael Succow Foundation conducted a feasibility study to examine the framework conditions for a biosphere reserve in the Tanasee region. The study examined the ecological, socio-cultural and institutional framework conditions of the Lake Tana region, actively addressed the concept of a biosphere reserve in close exchange with relevant local stakeholders, and developed guidelines for regional development.

The UNESCO biosphere reserve is intended to preserve the unique nature in the region in the long term and to create new income opportunities for the local population through ecotourism and the sale of regional products. By protecting the wetlands, the project also contributes to global climate protection.

Translated from German using DeepL Translate.