10. Work experiences (2002 to date )

Summarized work experience 

I have been serving at the Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources/ Hawassa University for the last 20 years in different capacities. Now, I am working at Associate Professor Position. I have engaged in teaching undergraduate, graduate and post graduate programs and offered 12 graduate and post graduates courses related to forestry and agroforestry. Besides, supervised over 65 completed M.Sc theses and 5 Ph.D. dissertations. And also, examined 50 M.Sc Theses and 10 Ph.D. Dissertations. Currently, supervising 10 Ph.D. research projects. So far, have won 17 national and international research projects Awards. Published 50 papers (39 peer reviewed articles, contributing authors for 2 books, one book chapter and 9 workshop papers). I have served as a reviewer for 14 international renowned Journals and, reviewed 22 manuscripts. Furthermore, served as dean the then faculty of Forestry and head of Farm forestry department for a period between 2002 and 2008. Also, served in several College and department levels standing and Ad-hoc committees.

Besides, participated in five national forest sector strategies and programs studies: Develop Regional Forest Sector Development Programs for nine regional states and two city administrations of Ethiopia, Volume 1: Forest sector situation analysis Commissioned to Biome Services PLC in 2018 -2019. Financed by UNDP; Developing and Mapping the Knowledge base for Natural Resource and sustainable land management in Ethiopia. Commissioned to Water and Land Resources Centre/Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia in 2017-2019; Improve forest biomass estimates in Ethiopia for key ecozones, forest vegetation types and species. EFCCC, Financed by Norwegian Embassy in 2019-2020; Study of causes of deforestation and forest degradation in Ethiopia and the identification and prioritization of strategic options to address those for seven regions of Ethiopia. Arbonaut Ltd (Finland based international consultant team). Financed by World Bank 2014-2015

Currently, coordinating REDD+ investment Project in 2023 with a total of USD 297,000 funded by UNDP; Sida funded Institutional Strengthening for Catalyzing Forest Sector Development Program Project (IS-CFSDP) (2019-2021) with a total budget of USD 308,000; NORHED II funded “Climate smart agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa project (2021-2026)” with a total budget of 20,011,255 NOK, of which 14.6% to WGCF-NR; HU funded thematic research project entitled “Potentials of climate smart smallholders’ coffee based agroforestry system: linking adaptation, mitigation, biodiversity conservation and household level renewable energy production in selected districts of Sidama National Regional State (2021-2023) with a total fund of 1,401,002 Ethiopian Birr; and EFCCC/Norway funded project “Biomass model development for estimating aboveground biomass of some selected native woody species grown in Moist Evergreen Afromontane Biome (2019-2020)” a funding amounted 1,021,863.32 Ethiopia Birr.

Detailed works experience

7/06/2014 to date

University’s affairs

• Working at Associate Professor Position (since June, 2016 ) and Assistant Professor Position at WGCF-NR/HU in Teaching, Research, Consultancy services, and supervision
• Representative of academic staff at academic commission (AC) of Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources
• Member of both the college and agroforestry department academic staffs development and promotion standing committees
• Member of agroforestry department research and development committee
• Agroforestry department and the then, forestry school’s academic staff development and promotion standing committee
• Served as both College staff and Agroforestry department Affairs committee
• Has been involved in several Ad-hoc committees including new journal development, research project screening, MRV strategic plan and among others (letters attached with application)    
• Involved in preparation of M.Sc and Ph.D. curriculum program development
• Offering short-term training to national and regional experts on forest carbon accounting
• Serving as Editor-in-Chief for Journal of Forestry and Natural Resources at Hawassa University.

Teaching and supervision

• Have been teaching Sc courses including: Agro-Biodiversity: Plant & Animal (BdCM526), Agroecology (AgFo 511, at AC), Research Methods in Agroforestry (AfSm 515), Climate Change Mitigation Measures (CcDe 526), Biodiversity Conservation (FaFo 518), Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation under Climate Change (CCSA517, at AC), Advanced Rural Sociology and Extension (AfSm521), Research Methods Inagricultural Landscape And Scientific Writing (CSAL513), Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Low Carbon Development (CCSA 522, at AC)
• And also, teaching D. courses include: Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Agroforestry (AGFO723), Bio-based Climate Change Mitigation (CCMA712), Research Method in Agroforestry (AGFO 711), Forest Ecosystem service and Management  
• So far supervised 65 completed M.Sc Theses and 5 Ph.D. Dissertations in the period between 2015-2022 that have focussed in the area of Climate Change Mitigation in Forest and Agroforestry system, Biodiversity Management and Conservation, Impacts of Land Use Land Cover Changes in Ecosystem services, Participatory Forest Management and Their Ecological and Social Impacts, Biomass Estimate Modeling for native trees, Impacts of Environmental gradients on carbon dynamics, Agroforestry for livelihoods support, Biomass Energy and among others
• Currently, supervising 12 Ph.D. Research projects working in the areas of Biomass and volume modeling for some selected native tree species for major biomass of Ethiopia, Land Use dynamics and Carbon Stocks changes, Smallholders tree planting and their socioeconomic contribution, Ethnobotanical Knowledge on Medicinal plants in urban setting and among others

Examination of M.Sc and PhD theses (2014 to date)

• So far, examined over 50 M.Sc theses as internal examiner at Hawassa University, and four in other university in Ethiopia whose thesis focused on potentials of Forestry/Agroforestry for climate change mitigation and adaptation, Biodiversity conservation, Socioeconomic and livelihoods aspects, Biomass Models Development, Biomass Energy among others.
• Examined 10 Ph.D. Dissertations defended at Hawassa University, Addis Ababa University, and Wageningen University, Netherlands and University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna.

Visiting researcher 

• Enrolled as a researcher at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT), Finland in 2017. Participated in writing manuscripts for data gathered in collaborative research project
• Visiting scientist at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT), Finland in 2019.

International summit attended 

• Attended COP25 summit carried out Madrid, Spain in 2019, and made slides presentation entitled “Opportunities and issues of forestry sector in Ethiopia in the context of Paris agreement” under the theme “Enhancing Capacity of Developing Countries to Address Climate Change: Issues and Opportunities” Korea Pavilion, COP-25, UNFCCC Madrid, Spain December 11, 2019

National studies involved  

• Participated national studies such as
• Develop Regional Forest Sector Development Programs for nine regional states and two city administrations of Ethiopia, Volume 1: Forest sector situation analysis Commissioned to Biome Services PLC in 2018 -2019. Financed by UNDP.
• Developing and Mapping the Knowledge base for Natural Resource and sustainable land management in Ethiopia. Commissioned to Water and Land Resources Centre/Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia in 2017-2019
• Identifying National Forest extension gaps and intervention strategies
• Study of causes of deforestation and forest degradation in Ethiopia and the identification and prioritization of strategic options to address those
• Documenting profitable agroforestry innovations for Eastern Africa, and Identification of Indigenous Knowledge on agro-Forestry Practices and their Implication on Sustainable Land-use.
• Carbon stocks and flux estimates in standing bamboo forest and their products, and setting carbon standard in west Arsi, Oromia, for African Bamboo forest PLC
• Develop Regional Forest Sector Development Programs for nine regional states and two city administrations
• Developing and Mapping the Knowledge base for Natural Resource and sustainable land management in Ethiopia

Project coordination and international collaboration experiences 

• Coordinating REDD+ Investment program in 2023 with funding of USD297,000
• Counter coordinating for collaborative research project entitled “Climate smart agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa” in collaboration with faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences funded by NORHED II (2021-2026)., at total budget of 2,813,831 NOK
• Counter coordinating Swedish sida funded project at WGCF-NR entitled: “Institutional strengthening for catalyzing forest sector development program of Ethiopia project (IS-CFSDP)” in collaboration with Environment, Forest and climate change commission of Ethiopia, SLU, CIFOR and EFRI (2019-2022), a total budget amounted USD308,000
• Focal person at Wondo Genet College for Ph.D. scholarship in REFOREST Programme project hosted at Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania), College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism (2020-2024)
• Served as a focal person for collaborative research project entitled “Collaborative Mapping, management and resilience of ecosystem services for food security and response to climate change in Ethiopia” in collaboration with Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland, which was funded by Academy of Finland (2015-2017)
• Involved in a collaborative project development entitled “Potential of agroforestry in complementing food security also through resistance of soil productivity and income diversity” in collaboration with Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland, which was applied to Academy of Finland (2018)
• Contractual service as a member of GHG auditing team with SCS global services to verify GHGs emission in forest landscape of Oromia, Ethiopia (2020)
• Involved in teaching course such as tropical forest and climate change, Tropical agroforestry at VITRI, Department of Forest sciences, University of Helsinki (2014)
• Involved in collaborative research project with Viikki Tropical Resources Institute of the University of Helsinki Finland (2008-2013)
• Participated in writing of three proposals on Horizon 2020 European Opinion funding projects.

Community services

• Training of Women on construction of improved biomass stoves technology in Hawassa town as part of capacity building and Job creation (2017/18).
• Delivered radio press on research experiences for Hawassa University’s FM Radio program (2014, 2016, 2022)
• Regular member of REDD+ coordination technical steering committee under Environment and Forest Authority of the South Nations Nationalities People Region
• Participated in document preparation for registration of the Gedeo’s traditional agroforestry practices by UNESCO
• Participated in sustainable land and forest management around watershed of Hawassa Lake in collaboration with Hawassa Environment, Forest and Climate Change Office
• Offered three trainings on forest carbon stock measurement to regional and national experts working under Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission and the respective regions organized by EFCCC in 2019 at Bishofetu
• Offered training to Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation and Development authority on forest carbon stock measurements in 2019 at Goba, Bale Zone
• Offered two capacity building trainings on MRV techniques of greenhouse gases assessment on forest and climate smart agricultural landscape for four weeks to regional and national experts organized by MRV office
• Delivered eight rounds two weeks training each for 200 national and regional experts working under EFCCC and, held training to Oromia REDD+ governing officials on forest carbon stocks measurement
• Assigned as Editor-in-Chief for the newly proposed “Journal of Forestry and Natural Resources” undertaking by the college
• Served as a reviewer to 14 international peer-reviewed and reputable journals (listed below), and reviewed altogether 20 manuscripts.

11/12/2013-6/07/2014

• Involved in teaching course such as tropical forest and climate change, Tropical agroforestry at VITRI, Department of Forest sciences, University of Helsinki

10/12/2002-01/11/2008

• Served at a lecture position and Involved in teaching, research and community services at lecturer and Assistant professor Positions at WGCF-NR. Courses included Forest ecology, General ecology, Forestry extension, Natural resource management extension, Ecosystem studies
• Served as Dean of faculty of forestry at WGCF-NR from 1999 to 2001
• Served as Head department of Farm Forestry at WGCF-NR from 1996 to 1999

01/03/1996-01/04/2002

• Served as Forest management, forest development, agroforestry expert at Sidama Zone Agricultural office, SNNPRs

Managerial skills

• Trained in the Capable Manager for a period of 12 months organized by Hawassa University in collaboration with Open University (2007)

11. Reviewer for international reputable and renowned journals:

• Food Security in 2020
• Forest Ecology and Management in 2018, 2020, 2022
• Urban forestry and greening in 2018
• Small scale forestry in 2018, 2020
• Land Degradation and Development in 2016, 2019
• Environmental Management and Monitoring in 2018
• Journal of Applied Ecology in 2017
• Global Change Biology in 2016
• Forest, Trees and Livelihoods in 2016
• Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020
• Agroforestry Systems in 2016, 2020, 2022
• Annuals of Forest Science in 2014
• Mitigation & Adaptation Strategies for Global Change in 2013
• Tropical Forestry in 2013

12. Membership in Professional Associations

• Ethiopian Forest Society
• Finnish-Ethiopian Alumni network

13. RESEARCH PROJECTS COORDINATED / AWARDED

14. CONSULTANCY WORK