The project aims to carry out rehabilitation of the local environment through integrated sustainable land and forest management activities that enhance its service giving capacity so that community?s livelihood potential is improved and biodiversity resources are conserved. This is done through building the capacity of the 250 association members to mitigate climate change and its effects through training, awareness creation and experience sharing; rehabilitating 63 ha of degraded hill sides and gullies, 450 ha of farmlands, and 35 ha of grazing lands in order to improve the ecosystem services and production giving capacity of the environment; creating alternative livelihood and income generating sources for 250 members of association by reducing pressure on land and forest of 199 ha; increasing the productivity of 450 ha of agricultural land and 35 ha of grazing through applying 12,564 m3 compost; contributing to the reduction of deforestation and forest degradation of 136 ha through the utilization of energy saving stoves and alternative sources of energy; protecting the currently endangered adjacent Hawassa Lake ecosystem from sedimentation by conserving 621 ha of degraded lands; and enriching forest on 199 ha of enclosure area by afforestation and reforestation practices.