Year after year, people unknowingly or calculatingly clear forest resources and make a number of acre of lands barren. This cutting down or clearing of forest resources has not long back been compensated by planting trees and applying a method of reforestation at a wider scope, of course.
However, a year before the Ethiopian government launched a great campaign and got over 4 billion tree seedlings planted of which over 84 percent are well prolific.
The effort is made persistent this year too and over 5 billion tree seedlings are planned to cover the land. So far, over half of the planned tree seedlings have been planted. Undeniably, plants are sources of life as a great deal of O2 are produced by them.
The initiative Ethiopia has taken right now is of paramount importance in immensely helping the effort geared towards creating a healthy, life-friendly and sustainable conservation move. The nationwide tree planting campaign aiming at planting a number of trees last year and this year were obviously launched by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed on May 26, 2019. In so doing, the country broke world record by planting 200 million tree seedlings a day in tune with the Green Legacy national project.
Lack of awareness among the public about afforestation, lack of sense of belongingness to the beloved country, shortcomings with regard to coming up with sustainable development are the very reasons why the country’s forest coverage turns out to be desolate.
Following these recklessness or unwanted behaviors, Ethiopia has lost billions of trees and forest resources over the last several years. Thanks to the unreserved and wholehearted effort of all walks of life in the country, these days most of the seedlings planted which are from indigenous trees have very well adapted to the local environment.
In simple terms, the objective of the 4 billion and the 5 billion campaigns is to contribute the worldwide effort to reduce pollution, address climate glitches and to restore the natural habitats that contribute positively to the ecosystem crises. The combined effort of all towards helping the nation go green signifies the diligence and commitment to come together for a principled goal.
Ethiopians have been working on natural resource management with a view to raise public awareness about overgrazing, addressing rapid deforestation for firewood, providing training to prime actors to enhance productivity. Every sector office has now doing all their level best to effectively discharge their national responsibility and stamp a fingerprint on the Green Legacy.
The activities of all towards ensuring green Ethiopia would undoubtedly leave a Green Legacy for future generations. Responding promptly to the national call of the government, every citizen from corner to corner have moved in harmonious and organized way to make country’s vision real. Ethiopia has announced efforts to consolidate government’s Green Legacy Initiative which started in 2019.
Undeniably, the successful accomplishment of Green Legacy calls for influential personalities that will be engaged in public mobilization, active engagement of government leadership, institutional coordination and stakeholders’ participation across the country.
As expressed time and again, the target for this year is to plant 5 billion trees, preparations to ready the required number of seedlings has been underway since the end of last year’s planting season. Beautifying Sheger Project spearheaded by PM Abiy Ahmed is also an encouraging move, which does have a direct bearing to the Green Legacy movement.
The Green Legacy, which was officially initiated by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed on May 26, 2019, is a countrywide four billion trees planting project which has targeted at decreasing the shock of climate change and endorse afforestation. The maneuver is a welcome step considering the fact that as per the estimates by the United Nations, Ethiopia’s forest coverage has declined severely to a low of just 4 percent in the 2000s from 35-40 percent a century earlier.
This rapid dwindling of forest resources is attributable to swift population growth, the need for more farmland, firewood, animal overgrazing, unsustainable forest use and climate change. The Green Legacy Initiative was from the outset aimed at planting 200 million trees in a single day in 1,000 sites across Ethiopia.
Thanks to the relentless effort of all Ethiopians from every nook and cranny of the nation, the initiative has achieved landmark success as manifested by the fact that 353 million trees were planted in the country during a period of 12 hours on 20, 2019.
The Ethiopian Herald August 5, 2020
BY MENGESHA AMARE
