This book, with contributions from leading academics - and including reviews and case studies from Ethiopian Church forests - provides a valuable reference for advanced students and researchers interested in forest and other natural resource management, ecology and ecosystem services as well as restoration options. The book addresses various aspects including a general overview of Ethiopian church forests, the present role and future challenges of church forests. It also discusses their structure and diversity in the context of sustainability and discusses restoration options for surrounding landscapes, under consideration of the circumstances of the land and the needs of surrounding communities. The intended readership includes natural resource professionals in general as well as forestry professionals in particular (practitioners, policymakers, educators and researchers). The book will provide the reader with a good foundation for understanding Ethiopian forest resources and restoration options of degraded landscape.

This book covers biodiversity conservation under special consideration of the challenges in the global south with particular attention being paid to consider the existing conservation challenges in relation to the study area in Ethiopia. Key issues are addressed, such as the current and future threats to plant biodiversity in Ethiopia, as well as the single large or several small conservation approaches and which approach is feasible for Ethiopia. Furthermore, an innovative approach was developed that enhances ecological connectivity and promotes ecological restoration through community involvement. The book also covers why a systematic conservation planning approach is important and should be used in new protected area establishments, and also looks at the trends of plant ecology research over the past five decades, revealing research gaps and suggesting future research topics. Despite its focus on Ethiopian plant diversity, abundant examples were used from different continents making this book attractive to global readers. It will be of interest for policy- and decision-makers in the conservation sector, researchers interested in biodiversity, climate change, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, and would be a valuable resource for university students.

In the northern highlands of Ethiopia, patchy remnants of old-aged Afromontane forests can be found mainly around the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Churches (EOTC). Forests in other areas have been completely destroyed and converted into farms and grazing lands over centuries. Hence, when a traveler sees a patch of indigenous old-aged trees in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, he/she can be sure that there is an Orthodox Church in the middle. Many indigenous trees and shrubs, which in some places were destroyed completely over the last century, are still found standing in the compounds of churches. The future existence of the woody flora and vegetation characteristic of dry Afromontane areas in Ethiopia depends on effective conservation and sustainable utilization of these remnant natural forest patches. Excluding cattle interference is a prerequisite to facilitate regeneration in church forests. Interconnecting these remnant forests by vegetation corridors following natural terrain or stream lines, or reducing the distance between them by creating buffer areas and plantations around them, and developing more patches in the landscapes are possible management activities to sustain these forests and help restoring the surrounding landscape.

Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Specifically, the paper identifies and analyzes several direct drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in Ethiopia including: forest clearance for both subsistence and large-scale agriculture; illegal and unsustainable extraction of wood mainly for charcoal and firewood; overgrazing; and recurrent forest fires. It also reviews underlying drivers including: rapid population increase and the associated growing demand for land and energy; extensive legal and institutional gaps including lack of stable and equitable forest tenure; lack of stakeholder participation in forest management and benefit-sharing schemes; and weak law enforcement. These drivers and the dominant actors behind them – ranging from small-scale subsistence farmers to national and global investors – are discussed in the context of the political economy, including the policy and institutional framework of the country. The implications of the overall forest condition to the objectives and requirements of REDD+ are evaluated, and key issues that need to be addressed for efficient, effective and equitable implementation of REDD+ are discussed. These key issues include: reconciling the apparently contradictory policies and programs, particularly those that negatively affect the forestry sector; improving the forest tenure and governance system; augmenting economic return from forests to communities and individuals; creating more efficient and effective forest institutions at all levels; and enhancing sectoral and regional coordination among implementing agencies.