Humbo: History
Humbo was selected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2003 as an area for voluntary resettlement for farmers from overpopulated areas, becoming the new home for 658 heads of households. This included 618 heads of households selected from overpopulated parts of Humbo, Boloso Sore, Kindo Koysha, Sodo Zuria, Damot Weyde, and Damot Gale who were resettled at a new village at the southeastern part of the woreda near Lake Abaya, beginning in May.
Two kebeles in Humbo were flooded after the Bilate burst its banks between 24 and 30 April 2005. According to unconfirmed field reports the flood killed two people and displaced 6,755, of whom 965 were from resettlement sites. The flooding also damaged 1,017 hectares of crop land and killed numerous livestock. In August of the next year flooding in Humbo displaced 6,000 inhabitants but without causing either loss of life or damage to the crops.
The World Bank approved funding November 2007 for a project sponsored by World Vision Ethiopia to restore forest to 3,000 to 4,000 hectares in Humbo and 1,000 to 2,000 hectares in Soddo Zuria using native species, a program which would be funded with funds from carbon offset purchases.