GOBA, Ethiopia — Nestled in the heart of Bale Mountains National Park in Ethiopia’s highlands is an isolated village surrounded by lush natural forest — one of the few left in the country. Covered in low-hanging clouds, a dirt road runs through the village of Rira, connecting it to the outside world. Along the sides […]
    •  athos77   ( @athos77@kbin.social ) 
      2•8 months ago

      No, you weren’t wrong. The park was established in 1970, and most of the settlers moved in after that. It’s only with the UNESCO designation that the government is actually going to stay protecting the park.

      The park has a mix of old and new inhabitants — mostly new. According to the park’s official documents, the park had few permanent settlements before it was established in the 1970s, and only seasonal pastoralists came to graze the grasslands. However, the population and settlements increased rapidly along with a shift from traditional livestock husbandry that grazed through the area, to mixed farming that also plowed the land. Today, the park has more than 3,000 households, each with about eight residents, and seasonal resource users.