A sudden USAID funding halt has stalled conservation efforts in Ethiopia’s Tama Community Conservation Area.
In a significant setback for conservation, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has abruptly suspended funding for Ethiopia’s TCCA.
It is known to be the nation’s largest community-led conservation initiative.
This unexpected move has halted crucial environmental and community development activities.
This issue has raised concerns about the future of both the region’s biodiversity and the livelihoods of local communities.
Established in 2022, the TCCA spans 197,000 hectares (486,000 acres) in Ethiopia’s Lower Omo River Valley.
It was created to empower Indigenous communities—including the Mursi, Bodi, Northern Kwegu, and Ari—to manage and protect their ancestral lands.
With an initial $8.5m investment from USAID’s Biodiversity and Community Resilience in the Omo Valley (BIOM) project, the initiative successfully reduced illegal hunting.
Also curbed deforestation, and fostered sustainable livelihoods through community-led governance.
However, on January 22, 2025, USAID notified project coordinators that, effective January 24, all funding would cease.
This sudden withdrawal forced the immediate suspension of conservation activities and the operations of community scouts.
“We immediately put our activities on hold and suspended our scouts’ operations,” said Berkede Kukmeder, project coordinator at Cool Ground, a nonprofit involved in establishing the TCCA.
“We were shocked when we heard that the project was over as we saw promising things and there was increasing hope among the locals to work more for the benefit of the biodiversity and for the community.”
The funding cut has had immediate and detrimental effects.
Community members, once engaged in conservation efforts, have begun reverting to illegal hunting and deforestation to sustain themselves.
Conservationists and Indigenous leaders warn that the crisis highlights the dangers of overreliance on foreign aid.
Without immediate support, the ecological and social gains achieved over the past two years risk being lost.
