The Role of Church Forest for Carbon Emission Reduction, Climate Change Mitigation and Urban Greenery: The Case of Selected Churches in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Asaminew Abiyu 1 , Teshome Soromessa 2 and Satishkumar Belliethathan 3 1,2,3 Addis Ababa University, P.O.Box1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Correspondence Author E-mail: asaminew.abiyu@thp.org Abstract This study was conducted in ten selected churches which are suited located in eastern part of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Simple step-by-step standard procedure was used for carbon stock estimation. Complete listing method was used to determine species biomass stock and systemic representative sampling methodsusedforsoilandlittercarbonstockestimation.Basedonthefindingthespeciesd istributionofEucalyptusglobulushadthehighesttreedensityandCasimiroaedulis,Dod onaeaangustifolia, EucleadivinorumandMaesalanceolata had the lowest tree density. The total carbon stock of the study sites was found to be 304.6, 330.6, 265.1, 224.7, 240.1, 218.3, 156.6, 170.9, 160.3 and 160.1, t/ha for the ten sites from one to ten in ascending order. Altitude and aspects were the two parameters that affected the carbon stocks soil and litter of the studied churches. The carbon stock in LC was higher in the middle altitudinal classes (22.15 t/ha) and the lower classes contain large amount of SOC (2914.05t/ha). The higher carbon stock is recorded in southern aspect in litter biomass and northwestern aspect in SOC. This study concludes that church forest had the potential to sequester large amount of carbon dioxide. Therefore, the forest has to be managed for biological diversities found in the area and for carbon sequestration and urban greening scenario. Key words: Carbon sequestration, Church forest, Climate change, Forest management, Urban forest, Introduction Forests play a significant role in climate change mitigation by sequestering and storing more carbon from the atmosphere than any other terrestrial ecosystem (Tulu Tola, 2011). Forest is also important for biodiversity conservation which is important storehouse of genetic material and aid in carbon sequestration ( FFE, 2011). Urban forestry gets more attention in Ethiopia, as well as in other developing countries (Kuchelmeister and Braatz, 1993; Carter, 1995). Ethiopia has one of the largest urbanization rates in the world (about 4-5%), and its urban population is expected to increase from 15% in 2000 to almost 30% in 2030 (UN Population Division, 2004). The population of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is exponentially growing and will reach over 4 Million in 2015. Urban sprawl is demanding its toll on urban forests and green spaces which provide a wide array of benefits for urban dwellers. Particularly the urban poor people depend on these forests for livelihood, and they are most seriously affected by environmental disasters ( Horst A, 2006).Urban forests improve the quality of 1