This is according to a new study published by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), which analyzed the 17 million hectares of Ethiopia’s forest cover. Its distinctly unromantic dry forests- featuring sparsely covered bush, bamboo, scrub and stubby trees- are poorly understood, and poorly managed. Yet they cover an area the size of Uruguay or the state of California, and play an overlooked, important role in Ethiopia’s ecology and economy. The invisibility of dry forests puts them at huge risk, as policies put in place to protect the environment don’t include what they can’t see.

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