The project aims to mitigate threatening of biodiversity through empowering local communities on natural resource management, reduction of soil erosion in the catchment and enhancement of agro-forestry systems in 4 kebeles of Dilla Zuria and Wonago Woredas through maintaining the ecosystem and biodiversity in vicinity of lake Abaya through improving the agro-ecology and the water catchment conditions; reducing the practice of tree cutting for fuel wood and fight against environmental imbalance; building the capacity of the local community and enabling them develop resilience to environmental shocks and enhanced adaptation to climate change; establishing self-help groups and developing alternative source of income to unemployed youth and resource poor farmers and agro-pastoralists.