Distribution, importance and constraints in gum and resin bearing species in Ethiopia

Abstract

Dry forest is the largest forest type in Ethiopia that currently covers 55 M ha. These forests are predominantly rich in Acacia, Boswellia and Commiphora species that gives the important export commodities such as gum arabic, frankincense and myrrh. However, these forests are suffering by huge degradation due to anthropogenic pressures also they are shrinking continuously by the expansion of agricultural lands, human settlement, overgrazing, and lack of policy and inappropriate tapping method. The aim of this paper was to review distribution, importance and constraints in gum and resin bearing species in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia expected areas covered by natural gum and resin bearing species in the different regions, the leading one Tigray have 940000 ha coverage, the other Amhara, Oromía, Gam-bela, Somalia, Beneshangul-Gumuz, Nationalities and Peoples of the South (SNNP) and Afar followed Tigray region respectively. The majority of the households in rural Ethiopia make use of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for different purposes, extending from food, feed, energy, and medicine to income generation and cultural practices. Among the range of NTFPs, gums and resins are advanta-geous trade commodities with a potential for helping social and economic developments both at rural and urban areas in Ethiopia. Commercial gums and resins are produced in rural areas, traded in urban and utilized by western countries and, hence, touch varied ranges of human lives and cross-sections. Therefore, adequate research and clear action oriented plans, improve tapping methods, clear policy about utilization and conservation gum and resin bearing species and identify method of propagation is recommended.