Growing hope with Ethiopian ‘church forests’

16/1/2012

“… Conservation International currently estimates that one species is now going extinct every 20 minutes, which is a thousand times faster than the norm during most of the earth’s history. It is understandably hard to imagine what it means that we humans are causing something in the natural realm to happen a thousand times faster than normal. That is a big number. ”

Tom Friedman, in his book, “Hot, Flat and Crowded”
Ethiopia boasts a rich and colorful history – home to the ancient bones of our most famous hominoid ancestors, Lucy and Ardi; headwaters of the mysterious Blue Nile; eight World Heritage sites; and now a global model for a partnership between church and science.
This East African country of 70 million people occupies an area about twice the size of Texas. Like many developing countries wrestling to obtain a higher standard of living, much of Ethiopia’s natural landscape has been cleared for agriculture and timber. One notable exception is the “church forest,” a green necklace surrounding each of 31,000 ‘Ethiopian Orthodox‘ Christian churches, some of which are more than 1,500 years old.

In Ethiopia, the church advocates a mission that includes not just spiritual sanctuary but also biological conservation, a veritable “home for all God’s creatures.” Church forests provide important ecosystem services for villagers: conservation of fresh water, climate control, prevention of soil erosion, home for biodiversity and native seeds, carbon storage, energy production (from sunlight), and an important spiritual and cultural heritage. In Ethiopia, most fresh water springs are located in the sanctuary of the church forests.

Conservation of these forests is critical to the future health of Ethiopians.

As you read this, students and faculty from N.C. State and the N.C. Museum of Natural Science’s Nature Research Center are working in the field with the Coptic church leaders to save these precious forests. Solutions are relatively simple:

Construct stone walls around the church forests (which also raise the agricultural yields because stone is removed from the fields; that expands the area planted).

Survey the remaining biodiversity.

Educate church leaders about the importance of their forest sanctuaries and offer environmental training for the children to survey their local pollinators and other biodiversity.
Such uncomplicated and relatively inexpensive solutions may avert the total deforestation of this country. That, in turn, will inevitably affect human survival.

As Tom Friedman explains, the world is not only “flat” – global – in terms of its economy, but also with regard to the consequences of biodiversity conservation.

Meg Lowman is an N.C. State University professor and forest canopy expert who directs the Nature Research Center, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. Online: www.canopymeg.com.

Source: