12. Church Forests as Sources for Forest Reproductive Material of Native Species and Their Possible Role as Starting Points for the Restoration of Degraded Areas in Ethiopia

One of the major bottlenecks in restoration of degraded land areas worldwide is the lack of adequate numbers of high quality forest reproductive material, i.e., forest seeds and planting stocks. The objectives of our contribution are to give an overview of initiatives in forest landscape restoration with an emphasis in Ethiopia. We try to point out the possible purpose of Church forests as sources for reproductive material and to highlight the potential role of new church nurseries in high quality planting stock production. Native tree species should be an essential part of the ambitious projects in greening the country. Unfortunately, adequate amounts of native seedlings are not available. We can fall back on many years of experience from research projects in Ecuador, Egypt, Namibia, and other countries as well. We finish with recommendations for a conceptual framework on tree seed procurement and its implementation for the purpose of successful restoration of Ethiopian forests and end up with a plea for the country’s efforts on conservation of biodiversity and national culture, which may act as a regional revitalization and demonstration object for innovative environmental enhancement and job creation for the people.