CDA forestry [phase I refugee areas project]

The evaluation covered the period FY83-1/88. Several critical assumptions in the project design proved untrue: (1) the availability of good quality land was overestimated, (2) the expected growth rate of tree species was overly optimistic for the climate, and (3) some species chosen were inappropriate for Somalia"s climate. The duration of the project was insufficient to permit these findings to be translated into improved procedures. It is recommended that future forestry projects in arid areas have a duration of at least 5 years. Nursery planning and management were good and on-the-job training of staff at all levels was satisfactory. Expatriate staff, however, did not always possess requisite dryland farming experience. Amenity planting with individuals and agroforestry interventions with settled farmers were enthusiastically executed and received. On the negative side, block and strip plantings on public land failed, partly because of the harsh climate, partly because of unclear ownership rights to the produce (with the exception of afforestation of sand dunes, which local people accept as "unproductive" and hence are unclaimed). Efforts to conserve fuelwood through design and marketing of more efficient charcoal and wood stoves appear to have been well carried out and efficiently documented. However, the relatively high price of these models may hamper the long-term sustainability of the component.