Abstract

Residents who have lived in the same area for extended periods can provide valuable insights into changes that have taken place in the diversity and abundance of local wildlife. Birds are among the best known parts of the earth’s biodiversity. This study was conducted in three selected church forests located in different agroclimate zones (“Kola”, “Weyna Dega” and “Dega”) in Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia to investigate the peasant’s knowledge and attitude towards birds of Endakidanemeheret, Michael and Giorgis church forests in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia. Data collection was carried out between November 2011 and March 2012 using questionnaires’ that contains both open and closed ended questions regarding their knowledge and attitudes of peasants on birds. The knowledge and attitude of local people living in and around the church forests towards the birds conservation varies from one church forest to the other church forests. The respondents of the residents of the three church forests indicated that birds were the dominant animals in the three church forests and almost all of them do not know the ecological significance of birds in the church forests. Finally, the respondents discussed that they will actively participate with the concerned bodies towards the conservation of birds.

Key words: Birds, Church forests, interview, Kola, peasants, Plants, Weyna Dega.