In 2008 a series of stakeholder interviews on sacred forests were carried out as a part of the Helsinki University’s Viikki Tropical Resources Institute’s (VITRI) research in collaboration with Ethiopian Wondo Genet College of Forestry. The purpose of the study was to explore the social aspects related to the remnant sacred forest patches in the Amhara region in Northern Ethiopia to better understand the social factors affecting the rehabilitation of Afromontane forests. There were four church and monastery forests, one reference forest and two district offices included in the research. All together over 100 interviews and questionnaires were conducted among the stakeholders varying from the local inhabitants to high administrative officials of the Tewahido Orthodox Church. In addition forest inventories were conducted to complement the qualitative data.
The results of the research confirm that one of the main reasons for the existence of these remnant Afromontane forest patches is religious respect of various forms. The main threat towards the extinction of the smallest semi urban and urban church forests is not external but rather internal in terms of over-exploitation practised in the forests. The examined church and monastery forests were under utilization and exposed to alien species by the clergy living in the church area. In all the examined cases the clergy was forced to increasingly exploit the forests in order to maintain a livelihood.
The local dwellers were in favour of rehabilitation of forests, however stating that any rehabilitation efforts should be done in a participatory manner in order to gain people’s approval and commitment. Species preference was one of the studied questions and the results show a difference in attitudes towards rehabilitation depending on the selected tree species. There were dual perceptions of the utilization of sacred forests as models for rehabilitation. Majority of the interviewed stakeholders had nothing against for example using seeds and seedlings taken from sacred forests or expanding the sacred forest area with buffer zones. Others were against these rehabilitation suggestions since they were considered offensive to the religion.
As a conclusion of the interviews the general opinion among the stakeholders was that in the Amhara region the Orthodox Tewahido Church could be a institutional organisation powerful enough to make people commit to rehabilitation efforts also outside the church area. The priority concern was however to alleviate the exploitation pressure from inside the church and conserve and protect the remaining sacred forests.
For further information of the research, please do not hesitate to contact.
Terhi Evinen
e-mail: [email protected]
M.Sc Student
Department of Forest Sciences
University of Helsinki