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Debre Mihret Arbiatu Ensesa Church Forest
South Gondar Zone, Amhara Region
Ethiopia
Active (functioning church)
Single grove
- Location
- South Gondar Zone, Amhara Region
- Coordinates
- ~11.8°N 37.9°E
- Elevation
- Ethiopian highlands (~1,800–2,500 m)
- Size
- Small church-forest fragment (a few–tens of ha)
- Age / Founded
- Centuries old (Orthodox church-associated)
- Status
- Active (functioning church)
- Deity & Religion
- Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christianity
- Community & Guardians
- Local Amhara EOTC parish; priests & monks
- Vernacular name
- Church forest (geddam/debr)
- Record type
- Single grove
Cultural practices & uses
Church/worship; 'a church needs a forest'; biodiversity sanctuary
Plant species
Indigenous Afromontane trees encircling the church
Biome & fauna
Afromontane dry forest island amid farmland
Threats & protection
Iconic church forest (Nat Geo/Emergence); edge effects, grazing; stone walls being built
Source
National Geographic — Ethiopian church forests; Emergence Magazine 'The Church Forests of Ethiopia'