Multi-level and multi-actor interactions in governing SDG 15 in Ethiopia: Stakeholder Workshop

The workshop commenced with an official opening address delivered by Dr. Tena Alamrew, Deputy Director General of the Water and Land Resource Center at Addis Ababa University. In his address, Dr. Tena provided a concise overview of the project's current status, operating under the auspices of Wageningen University and Research. He informed participants that the Water and Land Resource Centre collaborates with Wageningen University and Research as part of the Netherlands-funded NWO project titled "Beyond Cherry-Picking: Aligning Development Actors and Efforts for Inclusive and Effective Governance of Trade-offs and Synergies between Sustainable Development Goals in East Africa." Dr. Tena underscored the significance of this collaboration and briefly highlighted the contributions of two Ph.D researchers involved in the project. Expressing gratitude, he thanked all participants for their attendance and encouraged active engagement in discussions, urging stakeholders to share valuable insights to collectively contribute to the overarching objectives of the project.

Following the opening speech, keynote address was delivered by his excellency, Kebede Yimam, Director General of Ethiopian Forestry Development (EFD). His excellency emphasized that landscape restoration transcends being a mere task; it is a commitment to the well-being of the people and the preservation of our environmental heritage. His excellency stated that landscape restoration is a principal mandate of the EFD endorsed by council of ministers. The multi-level and multi-actor approach adopted by the EFD, as articulated by his excellency, underscores the interconnectedness of stakeholders in this endeavor. Concluding his speech, his excellency affirmed EFD's unwavering commitment to supporting the project and called upon all stakeholders to actively participate in discussions, share expertise, and contribute to the comprehensive study
of multi-level and multi-actor interactions governing SDG15 in the Lake Tana sub-basin of Ethiopia.

Following the enlightening keynote address, a distinguished panel, expertly moderated by Dr. Habtemariam Kassa, a principal scientist from CIFOR-ICRAF Ethiopia office, convened to delve into pertinent issues surrounding forest conservation and landscape restoration. The panel comprised eminent figures, including Bitew Shibabaw representing state actors, Dr. Alemayehu Wassie from non-state actors, and Erik Slingerland as the donor representative.
Dr. Alemayehu Wassie, ORDA-Ethiopia Executive Director, the renowned forest ecologist and Church Forest researcher, shared valuable insights into the influence of informal institutions on forest resource conservation and landscape restoration. His presentation highlighted the exemplary case of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's role in these endeavors, characterizing the church forests as unparalleled gems within the biosphere. Dr. Alemayehu underscored the synergy between faith and science, emphasizing the potential for replicable models when addressing ecological concerns collaboratively. The audience actively engaged with the speaker, posing insightful questions that added depth to the discussion. Subsequently, Mr. Bitew Shibabaw CEO of Forest Development at Ethiopian Forest Development provided a concise overview of the Ethiopian Forestry Development Program, elucidating its current initiatives and the intricate network of multi-level and multi-actor alignments. This comprehensive briefing offered participants a clearer understanding of the prevailing initiatives in the realm of forestry development. The final panelist, Erik Slingerland, First Secretary of Food and Nutrition Security at the Dutch Embassy offered a donor's perspective on multi-level and multi-actor interactions governing bilateral and multi-lateral funds. His discourse provided a nuanced view of the challenges and opportunities inherent in facilitating such interactions. The subsequent question-and-answer session further enriched the discourse, allowing for a more comprehensive exploration of the issues.

After a short break for coffee, the session seamlessly transitioned into focused group discussions. Participants engaged in thought-provoking dialogues on the synergies and trade-offs between Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 and other critical SDGs, including those pertaining to food security, water, forest, and climate. Aytenew Tatek introduced the SDG synergies tool, a strategic framework designed to map the interlinkages between different targets of SDGs. Participants were guided through the utilization of this tool, each contributing to an online matrix using assigned tokens to capture perceived synergies and trade-offs. Following the aforementioned activities, participants engaged in a comprehensive stakeholder mapping exercise focused on the Lake Tana Sub-basin's forest landscape restoration (FLR) governance. This involved the completion of a meticulously designed table to systematically map stakeholders based on their mode, level, and form of involvement, as well as the reasons underlying their engagement in FLR governance. The collected data were compiled for analysis. Then, participants convened in groups to undertake a dynamic influence-interest matrix workout. Deliberations within these groups involved collectively positioning each stakeholder within the appropriate quadrant, predicated on their perceived levels of interest and influence. Throughout these group discussions, participants provided justifications for the placement of stakeholders, delving into the intricacies of why certain entities were deemed highly influential, deeply interested, or fell within other categorizations. Comprehensive notes were diligently taken by group moderators during these deliberations, and the resulting visual representations on flip charts were collected for further analytical scrutiny.

The afternoon session featured two insightful presentations by esteemed experts, Prof. Georg Winkel and Dr. Jelle Behagel. Prof. Georg presented about Restoration: opportunities, challenges, and governance, focusing on the definition of restoration, modalities thereof, the significance of governing restoration, and the synergies and trade-offs with SDGs. Dr. Jelle's presentation delved into the international governance of sustainability, elucidating four pathways of influence: discourse and norms, rules and regulations, markets, and direct influence. Each pathway was critically examined in terms of successes and failures, and probing questions for reflection were posed, such as the connection of different actors with various pathways, the stimulation of synergies, and the identification of causes for divergence between norms, rules, markets, and projects in the context of Ethiopia. In this concluding session of the workshop, participants were actively raising questions and reflected upon the queries posed during the presentations.

Dr. Tena Alamrew delivered the closing remarks, expressing gratitude for the valuable contributions made by all attendees. Participants collectively pledged ongoing collaboration and commitment to contributing to the research project undertaken by the PhD students, thereby fostering a spirit of continued engagement and knowledge-sharing.