Journal of Environmental Management 330 (2023) 117118 Available online 28 December 2022 0301-4797/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Research article Local People’s perception of forest ecosystem services, traditional conservation, and management approaches in North Wollo, Ethiopia Ahmed Hassen a, * , Kerstin K. Zander b , Stella Manes c , Misganaw Meragiaw d a Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural and Computational Sciences, Woldia University, Ethiopia b Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University, Australia c Department of Ecology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil d Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Conservation Ecosystem services Local community North wollo Perception Threat ABSTRACT For their livelihoods, many people rely on the services offered by forest ecosystems. Nevertheless, forests are being lost and degraded on a global scale, endangering the delivery of important services. This is the situation in Ethiopia, a nation where land degradation and deforestation pose a threat to the majority of forest ecosystems. Studies in North Wollo are very scarce and limited despite the present growth in evidence bases measuring environmental services and risks across the globe. The traditional knowledge and attitudes of the locals con- cerning trends in forest management, conservation, and ecosystem services were investigated in this study. We used many approaches for gathering data. The quantitative data were analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, multiple linear regression, and general linear regression models. The main threats to forest ecosystems in North Wollo included deforestation for the production of frewood and charcoal, increased population growth and agricultural needs, environmental pollution, the allelopathic infuence of exotic species, and loss of soil fertility. These dangers cause instability and a decline in the range of ecological services provided by forests. Regarding this, the customary rules, social exclusion, and indigenous beliefs were utilized as a con- servation technique to maintain and protect the remaining natural resources. In addition, the community uses terracing, gully prevention, and hillside planting with native trees to restore the ecology that has been damaged. As a result, efforts should be made to solve the current diffculties and dangers since local people, the government and non-governmental organizations have an interest in preserving forest ecosystems. In general, encouraging the direct involvement of locals in decision-making and equitable distribution of the benefts resulting from the ecosystems could aid in addressing the diffculties and risks to the ecosystems. 1. Introduction Forest ecosystems are essential for the survival of all life on the planet Earth and the welfare of humanity (Lefcheck et al., 2015; Amberber et al., 2020; Quevedo et al., 2020; Agnoletti et al., 2022). Forest resources are vital for rural populations to meet their basic needs (Reed et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2016; Amberber et al., 2020; Quevedo et al., 2020). These include providing, assisting with, and managing cultural ecosystem services (Diaz et al., 2018; Isbell et al., 2017). Yet, global forest resources are declining because of deforestation and overexploitation of natural resources (Shackleton et al., 2018; Bhatta et al., 2022). In order to continue providing ecosystem services and the benefts that go along with them, forest ecosystems must therefore be protected (Rasmussen et al., 2017; Reed et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2015; Abate, 2020; Quevedo et al., 2020). The native species of tropical woodlands are incredibly diverse. They serve a variety of fundamental needs and perform cultural or spiritual roles for local and global people (Myers et al., 2000; Scholte et al., 2015). Recent global studies have revealed a signifcant knowledge gap in the ecosystem services of several tropical hotspot areas, particularly on the African continent (Manes et al., 2021; Abate, 2020). Ethiopia is one of the countries with a diverse range of native fora species (Tewolde, 1991; Getahun, 2018). However, the biodiversity of the forest is being reduced by the sharp decline in its resources (Crespin and Simonetti, 2016; Sutton et al., 2016). Large-scale species extinctions and excessive use of the planet’s natural resources lead to ecological * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: misganaw.meragiaw@aau.edu.et, ah4674763@gmail.com (A. Hassen). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Environmental Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117118 Received 10 August 2022; Received in revised form 20 December 2022; Accepted 20 December 2022