Changes in community perspectives on the roles and rules of church forests in northern Ethiopia: evidence from a panel survey of four Ethiopian Orthodox communities

Reynolds, Travis; Stave, Krystyna Anne; Sisay, Tizezew Shimekach; Eshete, Alemayehu Wassie

doi:10.18352/ijc.707

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Currently, most of these forest patches are restricted largely on lands managed by followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church [32]. A recent inventory by Reynolds et al [33] using high-resolution satellite imagery indicated the presence of more than 8000 church forests in the Amhara Region, ranging from <1 ha to over 100 ha in size.…”

Section: Review On the Status Of Dry Evergreen Afromontane Forests An...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Status of Dry Evergreen Afromontane Forest Patches in Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

Masresha

Melkamu

2022

International Journal of Forestry Research

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Ethiopian dry evergreen afromontane forests are primary biodiversity priority areas including many forest patches of Amhara Region. Natural vegetation of the region is now almost exclusively limited to sacred places, very few protected and less accessible areas. Despite different studies on the various dry evergreen afromontane forest patches of the region, there was not a review work on these forest patches at a regional level. Lack of comprehensive review work creates ambiguity to the understanding of the current status of the forest patches. Scientific information on these forest patches is important for future managerial intervention and sustainable utilization. Thus, the review was aimed to evaluate the status of dry evergreen afromontane forest patches of the Region. Each forest patch contained 15–156 plant species with a total of 525 species under 328 genera and 112 families. Asteraceae was the most species richest family followed by Fabaceae. Most patches harbored considerable number of endemic plant species with a total of 46 species within 44 genera and 26 families. Asteraceae was the most endemic species rich family. Most forest patches had high diversity. Diameter at breast height (DBH) and height class analyses of most forest patches revealed an inverted J-shape pattern. Mean basal area of the forest patches ranged from 1 m2h−1 to 115.36 m2h−1. In most forest patches many number of species were put in low frequency classes. The forests had more seedlings and/or saplings than mature individuals. Although each patch had a rich source of biodiversity, it is influenced by severe anthropogenic disturbances. Therefore, appropriate managerial interventions are required.

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Section: Review On the Status Of Dry Evergreen Afromontane Forests An...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Status of Dry Evergreen Afromontane Forest Patches in Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

Masresha

Melkamu

2022

International Journal of Forestry Research

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“…A comparison of satellite photographs from 1962 and 2014 indicate that in spite of a thinning of the forest canopy overall, the forested area of the churches in our sample stayed constant, and in some cases actually increased, during five decades of population growth, land tenure instability and extraordinary political turbulence (Scull et al 2017). And yet, like sacred groves and other sacred natural sites globally, the church forests of Ethiopia are threatened by a variety of forces including the conversion of native forest to non-native, economically valuable species (especially eucalyptus), and the construction of buildings inside the forest (Klepeis et al 2016;Reynolds et al 2017;Orlowska and Klepeis, forthcoming.). Outsiders with an environmentalist perspective are often dismayed by these changes and disappointed by the lack of concern on the part of the communities who manage these sites, particularly if they assume their preservation stems from the community's religious-ecological ethos.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Many of our informants also referenced the beauty of the forest when they said that it gave honor and grace (tsega) to the church. Another meaning of "tsega" is virtue, a meaning mobilized when informants compared the "respectful cover" that the forest gave to the tabot with the clothes that people wear out of modesty (Klepeis et al 2016;Dodds 2015;Reynolds et al 2017).2…”

Section: Npmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accidental Environmentalists

Kent

Orlowska

2018

Worldviews

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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.

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“…Given that forests within each zone experience similar microclimates and environmental conditions, socio-ecological factors likely differ across these Woredas and drive the variations in species composition, which could be informative to future forest conservation efforts. In a study examining community perspectives of church forest use in four church forests across four Woredas in 2002 and 2014 in the South Gondar Administrative Zone, respondents showed a lot of variation in their perceptions of the ecological and social values across Woredas, and there were shifts from social responsibility to official responsibility in protecting the forest and from valuing church laws to valuing state laws [42]. In ethnographic surveys of church forest communities in the South Gondar region, head priests varied in their understanding of why the church forest exists [27].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree Community Composition and Dispersal Syndrome Vary with Human Disturbance in Sacred Church Forests in Ethiopia

Woods

Mekonnen

Baez-Schon

et al. 2020

Forests

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Research Highlights: Variations in species composition across church forests in northern Ethiopia were driven more by variations in human disturbance and community forest management than forest size. The degree of human disturbance acted as an environmental filter that selected for weedy, exotic, and wind-dispersed species regardless of forest size. Background and Objectives: Forest fragmentation can profoundly influence the long-term persistence of forests on the landscape. Habitat fragmentation can increase edge effects and limit dispersal between forest patches. In the South Gondar Administrative Zone in northern Ethiopia, many of the remaining forests are small sacred church forests governed by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. Materials and Methods: We examined the drivers of woody plant species composition across 46 church forests in this region, including the influence of elevation, forest size, distance between forests, human disturbance, the presence of a wall, and the importance of local/individual community forest management at the Woreda level. We also examined how dispersal syndromes are influenced by increasing distance between forests and the extent of human disturbance within forests. Results: We found that elevational zone, distance between forests, the degree of human disturbance and Woreda had the greatest effect on species composition. Forest size and the presence of a wall were not significant drivers of species composition in these forests. Conclusions: We propose connecting forests through corridors or scattered trees to increase dispersal between forests, and greater on-the-ground protection efforts to restrict people and cattle from leaving the main trails within sacred forests.

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Changes in community perspectives on the roles and rules of church forests in northern Ethiopia: evidence from a panel survey of four Ethiopian Orthodox communities

Cited by 21 publications

References 58 publications

The Status of Dry Evergreen Afromontane Forest Patches in Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

The Status of Dry Evergreen Afromontane Forest Patches in Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

Accidental Environmentalists

Tree Community Composition and Dispersal Syndrome Vary with Human Disturbance in Sacred Church Forests in Ethiopia

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