Geography Ethiopia Essay

Ethiopia is situated in the Horn of Africa between 3-15 degrees north latitude and 33-48 degrees east longitude, and covers a total surface area of 1.13 million km2. It is a country with great geographic diversity, with its topographic features ranging from the highest peak at Ras Dashen/ Dejen (4,550 m above sea level) down to the Afar depression (110 m below sea level) (Demel Teketay, 2004). Gurage Zone is located in Southern Nation, Nationalities, and peoples’ Regional state located about 150km from the Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia.

The conservation by local community of natural resources with spiritual values takes various forms, including ownership and management of trees, the use of hills and mountains as venerated sites

Examples of such forests are common in Asia and are well-known in India (Gadgil et al., 1976; Chandrkanth et al., 1990) as well as China (PEL, 1985). Scared or protected forests resulting from bio-cultural interactions have also been described in Africa countries such as Kenya, Congo and Ghana (Kabuye 1992; Guillot, 1980; Falconer, 1992).

Traditional African religions often viewed land and its resources as communal property that belonged not only to the living but to their ancestors and to future generations (Omari, 1990). In many cases, the relationship between people and the land was a matter of spiritual concern, and such religions have been called ‘’profoundly ecological’’ (Schoffeleers, 1978). Sacred sites on the landscape, including sacred forests, play a role in many African territorial religions. Studies of sacred sites throughout Africa show that religious and spiritual beliefs can sometimes be the motivation for conservation and environmental protection (Dorm Adzobu et al., 1991; Ntiamoa-Baidu, 1995; Omari, 1990; Schoffeleers,