Heritage Conservation Practices and Challenges of Debre Yibabie Bale Egziabher Church in Janamora-Ethiopia

Abstract

Heritage resources are being converted into destinations and attractions to obtain economic benefits from tourism throughout the world. The interference between heritage and tourism is extremely complex. Stakeholders interpret heritage in a variety of ways for different purposes. Ethiopia is gifted with a lot of cultural and natural heritage as tourist attraction areas. The Amhara region has many age-old rock hewn churches and other heritage sites which need conservation and protection from any dangers. The main objective of this study is to assess the heritage conservation practices and challenges of Debre Yibabie Bale Egziabher church in Janamora, Ethiopia. The study has been conducted by using a descriptive type of research design with a qualitative research approach. The researchers used the sample population of the study area through a purposive sampling technique. So, the participants in the study were the religious leaders, clergy, deacons, and knowledgeable elders in relation to the study area. Local government leaders as well as tourism experts were the target groups for the study to gather information about the church. The researcher has used research instruments to collect information like primary data via observations, interviews, focus group discussions, and reviews of secondary data sources. Moreover, the data Analysis of this research is conducted by categorizing, describing and interpreting the data collection from observation, participant detail interviews, focus group discussion, document and textual analysis and photographic data on the basis of thematic analysis. Furthermore, the researchers have identified the heritage conservation practices and challenges that have made a meaningful recommendation to reduce them. Preservation and maintenance have begun by the government and locals, yet the involvement of key actors is still very poor. On the other hand, due to age, environmental deterioration, improper handling of moveable treasures, lack of finance, deforestation, and lack of stakeholder integration, have been major challenges for the sites. Therefore, the researcher tried to recommend that the Church needs to get better protection and care. They need to be relieved of their problems and threats, so stakeholders should play their roles in an organized and integrated manner, unless otherwise it will become difficult.