Ermias Debie Adane

Across the Ethiopian highlands, Orthodox Church forests persist as biodiversity-rich sacred landscapes surrounded by increasingly degraded common lands. While many ecosystems face deforestation, soil erosion, and climate pressures, these forests continue to preserve native species and long-standing systems of environmental stewardship. This project explores how church forest networks function as resilient socio-ecological commons and how their governance practices can inform climate adaptation and landscape restoration beyond protected areas. The project combines geospatial analysis, spatial network modeling, and participatory research to examine ecological connectivity between sacred forests and surrounding common landscapes, as well as the relationships between biodiversity, resilience, and adaptive community stewardship. It further investigates how culturally rooted institutions support environmental adaptation under conditions of change. By linking ecological science with local knowledge systems, the project develops globally relevant approaches to nature-based restoration and sustainable land management.