Ethiopia is working to plant five billion trees this year, part of an ambitious plan to plant 20 billion seedlings to help build a green climate resistant economy. The initiative, started last year by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, follows the Green Legacy Challenge project that claimed to plant a record 353 million seedlings on a single day, and a total of 4 billion last year.
Despite the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic the country is undertaking the initiative. GreenLegacy, for a greener and cleaner Ethiopia, is a national go green campaign, endeavoring to raise the public’s awareness about Ethiopia’s frightening environmental degradation and, educate society on the importance of adapting green behavior.
Accordingly Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed launched the Second Green Legacy Campaign on 5 June 2020, World Environment Day. The Government plans to plant five billion seedlings this year. Over four billion were reportedly planted in the First Green Legacy Campaign organized in 2019 during the Ethiopian rainy season, which runs from the beginning of June to end of August.
A record number of nearly 354 million trees were planted last year in a single day on what the Government named Green Legacy Day, 29 July 2019, although the Government’s plan had been to plant 200 million trees. Public mobilization is among the primary things so as to realize the activity. Accordingly almost all government offices were closed on that day as civil servants were out to plant trees. According to the information that over 80 percent of the trees planted last year has survived owing mainly to close follow-up by the people.
Citing key success factors from last year’s planting season as great public mobilization, active engagement of government leadership, institutional coordination and stakeholder’s participation, the need to build on these good experiences was indicated.
While the target for this year is to plant five billion trees, preparations to ready the required number of seedlings has been underway since the end of last year’s planting season. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed emphasized the importance of continuity and finishing what has been started, he reminded that the overall goal of the initiative was to plant 20 billion trees within the next few years.
Prime Minister said that the previous year and this year’s campaigns are part of the Government’s plan of planting 20 billion seedlings over four years. More than 24,000 nurseries across the nation have been busy for the past several months raising seedlings in preparation for the campaign. Seedlings raised by farmers will also be planted.
Trees will be planted both in rural and urban areas during the campaign. In the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, not only the city’s mayor but also top religious leaders planted trees on 5 June, 2020. The involvement of the religious leaders at the event, who transmitted key messages on the importance of trees, is expected to encourage their laity to follow suit. The city administration plans to plant seven million seedlings during this year’s campaign.
Accordingly, regional states are also participating in the second round of planting tress. President of Oromia Regional State Shimelis Abdissa, also launched the Second Green Legacy campaign in the State on the same day, where 3.5 billion of the five billion trees are planned to be planted this year.
“Our Green Legacy initiative is critical to Ethiopia’s aspirations to build a green and climate-resilient economy,” Prime Minister Ahmed said, in his campaign message. He also urged the people of Ethiopia to plant trees while at the same time protecting themselves from COVID-19.
The Amhara Regional State has also started a Green Legacy campaign to plant 205 million trees a day. It was launched in Bahir Dar in the presence of Chief Administrator of the Regional State, Temesgen Tiruneh and other officials.
Ethiopia plans to plant 5 billion trees this year and 1.75 billion of them will be planted in the Amhara Regional State. The country has so far planted 2.9 billion tree seedlings. Temesgen said the regional state is working to make the green legacy initiative, an ambitious plan to plant 20 billion seedlings.
The Ethiopian herald July 18,2020
BY HAILE DEMEKE
