How hundreds of small ‘Gardens of Eden’ guard against total deforestation in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s northern highlands were once covered by trees. But over the past century, development and exponential population growth have all but wiped out the region’s forests, transforming the landscape into an expanse of brown fields, given over to cattle grazing and agriculture. 

The small gardens of Ethiopia guard against deforestation.

However, an aerial view of the region reveals small pockets of green with round buildings in the middle, dotting the barren expanses. 

Born of the centuries-old belief of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church that churches should be surrounded by forests so as to resemble the Garden of Eden, these sites have become valuable sanctuaries of biodiversity amid the extreme pressures of population growth.

Watch the video on Aeon - “How hundreds of small ‘Gardens of Eden’ guard against total deforestation in Ethiopia.”