Early intervention of Farm Africa and SOS Sahel Ethiopia in Bale Eco-region of Ethiopia dated back to 2006, through the Bale Eco-Region Sustainable Management Programme (BERSMP). The Bale Mountains Eco-Region REDD+ Project (BMERP) is a subsequent project initiated to ensure a sustainable financing mechanism for OFWE and Community to sustain their forest management efforts beyond the BERSMP project. The Bale REDD+ is a pioneer initiative in Ethiopia also paving the way in generating experiences for REDD+ implementation on the ground in the country. Project Location: The Bale Mountains Eco-region REDD+ Project (BMERP) area lies between 50º22’–80º08’N and 38º41’–40º44’E in Oromia Regional State in south-eastern Ethiopia. The access to the area is by road either using Addis Ababa-Nazareth-Asela-Goba roReference Level for Deforestation: The average annual historical deforestation rates for the period from 2000 to 2011 were estimated to be 1.1% and 6.67% for the moist and dry evergreen forests respectively. The mean Carbon stock change factor based on the above ground and below ground carbon pools was calculated to be 850.13 tCO2e for the moist forest and 499.74 tCO2e for the dry forest. Main Drivers of Deforestation and degradation: • Expansion of agricultural activities (small-holder farming, market driven crops and livestock rearing) into forest lands; • Unmanaged fuel wood and construction wood collection from the forest; • Growing incidence of forest fires; • Growing population; and • In-migration to the project area from other areas of the country.