Some are heard of saying that they have understood the concept of green legacy merely in relation to making areas green and nurturing forests. However, it is pretty beyond what they have said so. The Ethiopian government has consistently made global headlines with ambitious tree planting targets since it launched the Green Legacy Initiative. The government has targeted planting trees during the rainy season—mid-June to mid-September.
A green legacy initiative plays a crucial role in promoting a healthy environment in Ethiopia by restoring ecosystems, mitigating climate change, and fostering environmental awareness and stewardship. Through its tree planting efforts, the initiative aims at creating a sustainable and resilient environment that benefits both nature and the people of Ethiopia. The positive contribution of the Green Legacy initiative to promoting a healthy environment in Ethiopia is untold; in fact, its impact on biodiversity conservation, soil conservation, and the social and health outcomes of local communities is vividly witnessed. Yes, tree planting and growing trees for carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, soil conservation, community engagement, and climate education have positive significance on a healthy environment.
Unequivocally, making green legacy proliferated will provide a more holistic understanding of the initiative’s effectiveness and contribute to the all-rounder sustainable environmental management in Ethiopia, the Horn region, and even in the continent of Africa and beyond.
No doubt, in Ethiopia, the Green Legacy Initiative is a program aiming at planting billions of saplings across the country, thereby improving the national social and ecological goals. Such a bold move has been helping build capacity to resist the impacts of climate change by mitigating the country’s vulnerability to its effects. Environmental protection, greening barren land, beautifying towns and cities, and expanding forestry coverage are some of the fundamental benefits of expanding green legacy. That is why it is recurrently stated that the initiative is not only serving as a means to help areas go green but is also instrumental in beautifying cities, towns, sector offices, vicinities, squares, and boulevards, which potentially attract tourists and provide residents a pride upon their dwelling areas.
The Green Legacy Initiative also helps protect water resources, biodiversity, and wildlife as well as reduce environmental damage and air pollution. Of the myriads of benefits the initiative has come up with, its significance in reviving forest coverage in the county has been given due emphasis as it has come up with cardinal national bounty. Yes, it aims to re-establish and protect Ethiopia’s forest ecosystems. In addition to this, soil and water resources are well protected and nurtured in an integrated way, and degraded lands are revitalizing, which has the long-term benefit of ensuring food security.
These days, urban areas in Ethiopia have been given special attention to make them green and renew ones. Unequivocally, green legacy has been praised for its efforts to create awareness and change behaviors. It has also been recognized as a model of action in the global effort to mitigate climate change. If truth be told, the Green Legacy does not only benefit Ethiopia but also the broader global community, and participating in the Green legacy Initiative is tantamount to working hard towards mitigating the impacts of climate change and challenges of food insecurity. Undoubtedly, the initiative is of paramount importance in assisting the world recover greenery scene. In Ethiopia, all segments of the society are engaged in planting seedlings of the Green Legacy Initiative, the Prime Minister took the lead, indeed!
Moreover, the initiative is of crucial importance in maintaining healthy environment, apt agro-ecology and tourism development. Principally, it further promotes the good image of Ethiopia in the global showground. No one can argue against that the Green Legacy Initiative is a great move towards creating an enabling environment to mitigate climate change, air pollution, foster conducive agro-ecology, tourism development and the other economy of the country. That is why Ethiopia has made remarkable strides in that regard.
The initiative is of significantly useful in booming socioeconomic value. From mitigating droughts and flood control to the preservation of soil fertility to limiting CO2 emissions, improving forest coverage across Ethiopia is crucial. It is instrumental in avoiding generational environmental problems that are bound to worsen as populations increase and the demand for energy resources rise. The good thing is green legacy focuses on re-establishing and protecting Ethiopia’s forest ecosystems with the plan of addressing environmental degradation through carbon sequestration, preservation of wildlife and biodiversity and mitigation of soil infertility.
The use of planting trees to combat climate change cannot be adequate on its own. The burning of fossil fuels is still the most fundamental challenge that is causing environmental problems. It would indeed require a more wide-ranging approach than the Green Economy initiative had called for.
Yes, ensuring that the right type of tree seedlings are planted in the soil composition, altitude and weather conditions suitable for them is near impossible when it is done at large scales. People cut down trees, because they either need the land for farming or the wood for fuel and construction. The more rural the area and the likelier that the people find themselves in the lower-income group, the higher the probability that they cut down trees for it is a matter of survival.
There are initiatives across the world to involve communities in the management and governance of forests in their area to counteract these problems. It is also essential to allow local communities to develop a sense of agency and ownership of the forests in their vicinity. The idea of involving communities in forest management is not unheard of in Ethiopia. The initiative has also provided a critical chance for the government and its partners to use the media to raise public awareness about the importance of planting trees and protecting existing forests. The Green Legacy is very important for business, too, as it increased demand, and has created better marketing opportunities for youth and women producing seedlings.
Beyond simply getting trees in the ground, the green legacy has achieved several notable successes in building capacity, systems, and culture around restoration. It has also contributed to much more widespread awareness of the importance of reforestation. While much still remains, there is no shred of doubt that the Green Legacy has delivered results, the most important of which is ‘green culture’.
Without a shadow of doubt, the new culture will be a legacy preserved for Ethiopia’s future generations. Many cities throughout the country are now being conscious of the need to nurture green spaces and enhance forest cover in suitable areas as well as on the banks of rivers. As making the green legacy outcomes compatible with the fast-paced urbanization requires the combined effort of all, the commitment of millions of citizens is badly needed.
Since several direct and indirect drivers of deforestation and forest degradation have been identified as severe environmental degradation problems in Ethiopia, mass tree planting program was launched in Ethiopia in 2019 with the objective of reducing the impact of climate change and to improve contribution of forests to the green growth path of the country. The mass tree planting campaign should continue in the future by involving local communities. Interestingly, the local communities expressed their interest to participate in the future tree planting programs. The most important part of the initiative is not only to plant as many seedlings as possible as it is necessary to consider the technical or bio-physical factors such as selection of appropriate planting sites.
It is clear that the tree planting program offers low cost carbon removal opportunities for the country. The government, concerned bodies working on environmental preservation, companies, and the community at large should look for ways to further buttress efforts towards going places green, and there should be a clear rule and guideline on the benefit sharing mechanisms. This amalgamated stride could definitely play a greater role in the efforts exerted towards mitigating climate change and enhance other roles of forests and trees. All these activities should be properly planned and implemented by the relevant government organization starting from the federal to the kebele level down the road.
In order to enhance the involvement of various stakeholders including the local community and ensure the sustainability of the initiative, Ethiopia should set up a number of formalized institutional arrangements, which has a clear roles, rights and responsibilities.
Most importantly, ensuring the development of the country through implementing efficient rural as well as urban green initiatives based on public consent and development via coordinating human power and institutional and technical capacities at all levels has to come to the forefront.
Planting seedlings in cities and rural areas would surely help improve the benefit of forests for the region’s social and ecological goals and realize regional prosperity. Since green areas and recreational sites play a significant role in serving as a buffer in providing people with environmental services such as carbon sequestration and social or cultural benefits to the local people, going areas green has to be well capitalized.
In general, the green legacy initiative, which has been widely run by Ethiopia, shows that there is a big room for forests to contribute to the country’s economy apart from making places luring and apt to be visited by visitors and tourists. To make this all real, forest degradation and deforestation have to be well tackled. Most definitely, green legacy has gone beyond going areas, places, and panoramic views; it has helped the nation bring about numerous social, cultural, economic, and even political standards. Greening areas, whether in rural or urban localities, is significantly useful in intensifying forest products like firewood, fodder, honey, wild coffee, mushrooms, spices, medicinal plants, etc. Therefore, it has to be made modern via raising public awareness about the significance of green legacy, for it is beyond what people have thought of it. Following the green legacy initiative, tree planting efforts have had a positive impact on paving the boulevard towards meeting the environmental and the socio-ecological goals. Since trees help, through the green legacy initiative, peculiarly curb soil erosion and buttress fertility, the initiative has to be well reinvigorated at the national level.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY MENGESHA AMARE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2024
