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Ethiopian Orthodox Church Forests (Amhara Region; incl. Zahara & Debresena)
Amhara region / South Gondar, northern Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Active
Regional cluster
- Location
- Amhara region / South Gondar, northern Ethiopia
- Coordinates
- ~12°N 37°E (region)
- Size
- ~35,000 church forests (Lake Tana/N. highlands; ~1,400 in South Gondar); 3–300 ha, avg ~5 ha
- Age / Founded
- Tended ~1,500 years (Orthodox Christianity in Ethiopia)
- Status
- Active
- Deity & Religion
- Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Christianity (church forests)
- Community & Guardians
- Amhara; EOTC parish communities, priests & monks
- Vernacular name
- Church forest (debr)
- Record type
- Regional cluster
Cultural practices & uses
Church/worship centers; firewood, honey, freshwater, cattle grazing
Plant species
Relict Afromontane dry forest; indigenous trees (often the last natural forest in the highlands)
Biome & fauna
Tropical Afromontane dry forest fragments
Threats & protection
Deforestation, isolation, small size, declining soil fertility, grazing; community-protected
Source
Cardelús et al. 2013, Diversity 5(2):320-334; Church forests of Ethiopia (Wikipedia); Nat Geographic; Emergence Magazine