🌳 The 'sacred forests' of northern Ethiopia
Ancient woodland refuges documented through declassified military imagery
📋 Fast Facts
- Located in the Ethiopian highlands of northern Ethiopia
- Identified and studied through World War II aerial photography and Cold War satellite imagery
- Represent remnants of ancient forest ecosystems in a region of significant deforestation
- Protected by longstanding cultural and religious traditions
The sacred forests of northern Ethiopia are woodland areas that have persisted in regions otherwise heavily deforested over the past century. Their existence and extent were documented through an unusual historical pathway: declassified World War II aerial photographs and Cold War-era reconnaissance satellite imagery provided a visual record of forest cover across decades. This photographic archive allowed researchers to trace the forests' boundaries and survival where ground surveys would have ...