Twin Gardens Ethiopia 2006

This was a multi-discipline scientific expedition to the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia by a tri-national team based in the University of Aberdeen. The mountains lie to the east of the Great Rift valley and rise to 4000m. Although the area has no natural boundaries, it has been a National Park since the seventies, but has never been well managed: although it was once a major highland forest, rapid population growth has brought massive deforestation with all its attendant problems. Data collection for two main projects was successfully completed - forest glades and honey gathering (a major source of local income) - which should help the team to put together a new management plan with conservation of natural resources as one of its main aims.