The Contribution of GUDO Forest Conservation Culture is Key to Biodiversity Conservation.

Background: The Sheka people have long been sustainably managing and conserving the Sheka forest by utilizing different procedures. Shockingly, these indigenous methods for natural resource management are ordinarily absent from scientific forest management and not archived. This paper aims to document “the GUDO culture” and demonstrate how the Sheka people through their indigenous culture can provide valuable, appropriate, and effective forest conservation strategies. The GUDO is a designated forest area mostly found in the mountainous and the rocky area of the Sheka zone. It is found mostly in rocky and mountainous parts of the Sheka zone. They are cultural symbols related to indigenous beliefs and signify spiritual connections to the forestland. Methods A framework based on ethnographic information is proposed in this paper; accordingly, Qualitative methods involving interviews and focus group discussions with villagers were used to gather data. The traditional leaders because of their rich indigenous knowledge and participation in cultural ceremonies and rituals purposively selected the participants. Results The study found wide conservation practices (a) People’s beliefs, (b) conservation mechanisms, (c) taboos and totems, and (d) People’s knowledge of the sacred forest (e) Forbidden Forest (f) spiritual significance of sacred forests (g) Conservation and management of sacred forests (h) Cutting of trees in the sacred forest (i) Protection of the sacred forest (j) Conservation of biodiversity . Conclusions This paper concludes that the GUDO forest conservation culture is illustrated in the Sheka people forest utilization, protection, and management. Therefore, the GUDO forest conservation culture provides important insights into the protection of various forest types and tree species, contributing to the conservation of biodiversity.