The Hailemariam and Roman Foundation (HRF) and France, through the Agence Française de Development (AFD) partner to preserve Ethiopia’s Maze National Park and its watershed.
The HRF and AFD today signed a financial agreement for a project to preserve Ethiopia’ s Maze National Park and its watershed in Addis Ababa, according to the information from the Freench Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“The Project on the Preservation of Maze National Park (MzNP) and its Watershed in Ethiopia’ is envisaged to make MzNP a model of a well-managed, functional National Park which adequately renders the social, economic, and ecological benefits to the local communities that have long been the guardians of this relatively intact national park. It will endeavor to create ownership of the systems and activities developed by all stakeholders, particularly the park, the various authorities (at all levels), and the local communities,” it said.
A 5-year project is going to be implemented by HRF with a 5 million Euro total grant from AFD. Introducing the signing ceremony, French Ambassador Rémi Maréchaux reminded participants of the uniqueness of Ethiopian biodiversity and emphasized “the comprehensive approach of the project that will support the conservation of biodiversity in Maze National park but also improve the conditions of the surrounding communities and finally ensure sufficient water flow in Maze’s river for the benefits of the nature and the people”
In his keynote remarks, the Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Chair of the HRF Board, Hailemariam Dessalegn, pointed out that due to population pressure and climate change, the biodiversity stock of Ethiopia has been dwindling, and most of the remnant biodiversity resources are found only in peripheries that are designated as protected areas.
Although the protected area system of Ethiopia covers 10% of the country’ s land mass, many of them need to be legally gazetted, and their management system lacks capacity due to limited funding, poor facilities, and understaffing, resulting in low management effectiveness. Thus, preserving the
remaining biodiversity resources in these peripheral areas is a matter of survival and an emergency response.
The financial agreement signing ceremony paves the way for the formal commencement of the project in December 2023. Thus, this heralds a new chapter of partnership between HRF and AFD towards taking practical and positive steps to curb the ongoing biodiversity degradation in Ethiopia while ensuring lasting and sustainable benefits to the local communities who have been playing a guardianship
role in preserving the resources.
The ceremony was attended by prominent figures, including the former Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Chair of the HRF Board, the French Ambassador to Ethiopia, the former First Lady of Ethiopia and HRF CEO, the Deputy Director of AFD, the Deputy CEO and Head of Programs, the Program Chief of the Climate Smart Conservation and Ecotourism Program, the Maze National Park Chief Warden, and other guests.
The financial agreement was signed by H.E. Roman Tesfaye, the Former First Lady & CEO of the HRF, and Sonia Lioret, Deputy Director AFD and co-signed by Ambassador Rémi Maréchaux.
The Hailemariam & Roman Foundation (HRF) is a CSO established to support the development endeavors of government, NGOs, and communities by using its unique convening potential. With the grand vision of seeing “A healthy and economically empowered community in a well-conserved environment,” the HRF places its unique mission to catalyze development players’ interventions and inspire citizens to build healthy communities and develop a sustainable environment in support of socio-economic transformation in Ethiopia and the broader Horn of Africa.
The HRF’s intervention is geographically focused on areas with the greatest inequities, where the foundation may make a difference. Since its inception in April 2018, with an emphasis on three thematic
areas—Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health (MNCH) & Nutrition; Climate-Smart Conservation and Ecotourism (CSCET); and Youth and Women Economic Empowerment (YaWEE)—HRF has been executing various initiatives targeted at pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in the South and Southwestern parts of Ethiopia.