Entoto Natural Park

A Garden of Health & Prosperity         BACKGROUND OF THE ENTOTO-NATURAL-PARK PROJECT 1.1    The Situation    (Date: 1995) The capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, lacks public parks for its growing number of citizens. At an alarming rate, the peri-urban sites are converted into town. There is no national park demonstrating Ethiopian nature in the vicinity of the capital, and the surrounding countryside contains only farmland or tree plantations. There is an urgent need for at least one significant area where the urban population can spend periods of rest in a natural, clean and unspoiled surroundings, among greenery and fresh air. 1.2      The Problem When the population density in a city increases rapidly during a short period of time, it gives immediate effects on the natural resources around the town. This is what has happened in Addis Ababa, where the massive demand for biomass as an energy source has deteriorate...

Acknowledgements In Ethiopia, we were incorporated in a team of Ethiopians and expatriates working for the establishment of a natural park. Coming as foreigners to a new part of the world, not as a tourist but in order to carry out a study, can be very difficult. We were lucky in this case as there were a group of people already working on the project, and we were from the very beginning on good terms with them. These are the members of the Park Committee, who we had the pleasure of working with during our stay in Addis. You have all been helpful and have made us feel full members of the Committee. ('Ato' and 'Wro.' are the Amharic equivalences to 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.') Mr. Michael Sargent,   initiative taker to the park and the founder of the Ethiopia Heritage Trust. He is very enthusiastic about many ideas and visions. He also had the power to put them into reality. As Mr. Sargent is Head of British Council, he offered the Park Committee an offi...