This project will extend work that was previously carried out by the proposed scholar under a Darwin Initiative grant. The project will develop and implement a management plan for the Guassa-Menz area. Previous work showed that this area has an indigenous natural resource management system that was estimated to be over 400 years old, and which focused on harvestable products (grass for thatch, grazing for livestock, fuel wood and medicinal plants). The aim of the present proposal is to strengthen that existing system to include the conservation of endemic biodiversity of the area, including the threatened Ethiopian wolf and the largest population of the Ankoba serin. Finally, using the results of the previous work and with the addition of data collected over the forthcoming year, the applicant will finalise a number of scientific papers for publication. The project will have a lasting legacy, both through the professional development of the applicant and through securing the future of an area of outstanding beauty and importance tht lies outside the current system of protected areas in Ethiopia, yet that is critical for the conservation of the Ethiopian wolf.
