Community Outreach
Community Participation
The Simien Mountains National Park has recognized the participation of the surrounding communities in many activities such as boundary re-demarcation, establishment of park liaising committee at wereda level and zonal level. It also works jointly with religious leaders, influential peoples, and community elders as well as involves volunteers i.e. community “scouts” on patrolling of the park.
Benefit Sharing and Alternative Livelihood
Though the Park has a developed Management Plan and submitted to the regional government, it has not been endorsed yet and is under revision. The Management Plan proposes that the benefit as much as 60 percent of the revenue arising from tourism in the Park should go to three weredas (20 percent for each wereda) found adjacent to the park, which is the first in its kind in the history of Ethiopian National Parks. Other activities which are benefiting the community directly or indirectly are going on including agricultural production enhancement in the community (providing new breeds, improved varieties of cereal crops, forest seedling production and distribution, soil conservation, etc.), provision of energy saving stove production materials (moulds), establishment of community lodges and Tourism-based community associations namely local tour-guides, cooks, porters, local handicrafts, dancing and cultural museum.
Collaboration and communication with stakeholders
The Park works in close collaboration with village courts, wereda police and judiciaries, and Integrated Development Project (IDP) funded by Austrian Government as a bilateral cooperation. There is also a close supervision of the Park from UNESCO.
Education and Training
The Park has also accomplished a significant achievement in mass awareness through establishment of school nature clubs, providing education in religious and traditional institutions, providing training for scouts and educating the community on family planning issues.
Natural Resource Conservation
Soil and water conservation works and vegetation rehabilitation (restoration) activities using indigenous or native species is also carried out in degraded areas around and in the Park supported by Integrated Development Project
