Mattu University and PHE-EC, with Agroecology Fund support, hosted a capacity-building training on Biodiversity Conservation, Sustainable Forest Management, Agro-Ecological Practices, and NTFPs Value Chains in Metu from Nov 28–30, empowering experts, practitioners, leaders, and communities from Ilu Aba Bor Zone. Participants gained practical skills in forest governance, biodiversity monitoring, sustainable harvesting, value addition, and market linkages, blending indigenous knowledge with science to combat degradation and boost livelihoods. The event sparked commitments to scale cooperatives, monitoring, and partnerships for resilient, agroecology-driven development in Ethiopia's vital Yayu Coffee Forest Reserve.