Accidental Environmentalists

Abstract

In the highlands of Ethiopia, the only remaining stands of native forest are around churches of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. Though hailed as community-conserved areas by environmentalists, we argue that the conservation of such forest is not intentional, but rather an indirect result of the religious norms, beliefs and practices surrounding the sites. In actuality, the religiosity surrounding church forests maintains the purity of the most holy space in the center of the shrine, the tabot, a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, which ensures that the church is a legitimate and effective portal to the divine. An underlying cultural logic of purity and pollution structures the spatial organization of the site outward into a series of concentric circles of diminishing purity and shapes the social order into an elegant hierarchy. This article seeks to understand the norms, beliefs and practices of this sacred geography in its social and religious context, arguing that ignorance of or inattention to these can undermine the conservation goals that have brought these forests, along with so many other sacred natural sites, to the attention of environmentalists around the world.

Consumed from within? Social and ecological drivers of internal clearings in Ethiopian Orthodox church forests

“…Recent ethnographic studies have argued that church forests are not managed strategically as natural resource systems, but instead are managed to facilitate religious benefits, many of which center on clearings in the forest (Klepeis et al, 2016; Orlowska & Klepeis, 2018). There are two main types of church forest clearings: the central qitsir , which houses the main church buildings and provides congregation service space, and the mehabir (local church associations) clearings outside or bordering the qitsir , which primarily serve as meeting places and graveyards (Kent & Orlowska, 2018; Orlowska & Klepeis, 2018). Additionally, many church forests serve as living areas for monks and nuns (Orlowska & Klepeis, 2018).…”

“…Additionally, many church forests serve as living areas for monks and nuns (Orlowska & Klepeis, 2018). Religious significance is greatest in the center church building and the surrounding clearings (Kent & Orlowska, 2018); such benefits extend, to a lesser degree, to the broader forest area, the ke‐qitsir wichi or atsed , although the holiness of the forest space is derived from its relation to the church rather than in the sacredness of individual trees (Kent & Orlowska, 2018; Klepeis et al, 2016). A church‐centric management scheme hence seemingly favors internal clearings for religious significance over potential ecological benefits arising from greater church forest area, vegetation density, and species diversity (Klepeis et al, 2016; Orlowska & Klepeis, 2018).…”