BY YESUF ENDRIS
Ethiopia has been contributing a lot to the effort geared towards maintaining green campaigns as billions of seedlings had been planted over the last few years.
The government has designed projects in a bid to sustain such campaigns as the global environmental conditions have become critical dreads of the time.
During last year’s greenery campaign, it was disclosed that Ethiopia’s effort in preserving regional and global ecology will be one of influential movements in the fight against pollutions and the growing desertification.
The government announced that it will work hard in collaboration with a range of partners with a view to strengthening cross boarder joint actions as climatic change affects the whole region and it has a direct bearing to a number of social, economic and ecological mishaps.
A range of diplomatic works have been undertaken and many plans are being formulated targeting at sustaining environmental works, according to official reports.
UN Environment has also recognized Ethiopia’s stance and its role in making basic improvements of environmental preservation. At the meantime, Ethiopia has also registered as front players and advocators of environmental works during sessions in Committee of Parliament Representatives in UN environment.
In case, the former leaders of Ethiopia have also recognition from international community for their contributions of environmental protection and have designed sustainable development policy frameworks as the international organizations recommended.
And they have undeniable effort in the international community in influencing diplomatic corps and building mechanisms of fighting climatic changes.
Accordingly, Ethiopia has achieved relative better carbon neutrality compared to other nations through implementing sustainable development policies which were basically comprised in Growth and Transformation Plan I ad II.
The current government has also sustained the pan of succeeding carbon free economy within its ten year plan which was introduced late last year.
Campaigns of greenery have been also taken as major works to combat the emerging climatic change. Over the last few years, Ethiopia is on the track of practicing and prioritizing green economy as a means to sustain and preserve natural resources.
The latest initiative has been started with planting four billion seedlings in one season and is being practiced each year since 2019.
As to information of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission (EFCCC), Ethiopia is building performance and culture of extending forestry as it loses large number forest coverage.
The Ethiopian Herald also reported a month before that Ethiopia has achieved more than plan in terms of planting seedlings. And it was stated that more than six billions seedlings will be distributed in the coming summer season; about one billion seedlings will be supplied to neighboring countries.
Figures from the Commission indicated that Ethiopia will supply one billion seedlings to Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibuti, Somalia and Kenya, it was learnt.
Of course, the campaigns which were held over the previous years mainly targeted at enhancing forest coverage for many of its plantations are being defrosted. Furthermore, the campaign is instrumental in raising global community awareness that Ethiopia’s effort in preserving environment and containing the impacts of global warming has become an exemplary one.
This is also of paramount importance in combating environmental degradation and buttressing greenery movements in the country in particular and in the Horn in general.
Besides, Ethiopia has been practicing the greenery campaign each summer in parallel with Africa Union’s agenda 2063 which has goals of achieving sustainable development and the United Nations Agenda 2030.
It is also clear that Ethiopia has special place in cooperating with international organizations including UN agencies and other organizations working on environmental protection in designing frameworks and funding environmental works, as information indicated from UN environment.
In due course of struggling climate and environmental change, Ethiopia has signed several agreements and joint actions.
Lately, Intergovernmental Authority on Development and European Union have signed 4.4 million euro grant to fund Trans-boundary conservation project which will built alongside of Ethiopia and South Sudan’s boarders.
Quoting Melaku Bedada, State Minister of Political and Public Diplomacy Plenipotentiary at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MoFA it has been reported that Ethiopia is powerfully working on environmental protection and will capitalize on further undertakings with diplomatic community. It is also stated that Ethiopia is ready to support and implement the project.
He also remarked that the funded project will have great impacts on saving the local ecology in both countries, it was stated.
During the signing of the agreement, Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, Executive Secretary of IGAD has also praised the project and the long standing diplomatic relation of IGAD and EU in promoting such projects, the Ethiopian Herald learnt.
As to MOFA, Augmenting Trans-border projects of environmental protection has been one of countries’ focuses this time.
It was also stated that Wildlife Conservation Society WCS also will take the implementation of the project jointly with the local community from the two countries.
Furthermore, early this month, high level online workshop was held. According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the workshop was mainly prepared to boost Ethiopia’s diplomatic works on the sphere of extending greenery campaigns.
As learnt from officials, the workshop was jointly organized with the Ethiopian Foreign Service Training and United Nations Institute for Training and Research UNITAR. It was held for four days and a number of issues regarding on climatic change science and climate diplomacy had been raised by participants.
According to the information gained from MoFA, Ethiopian ambassadors and diplomats were participants of the workshop. Opening the online workshop, Amb. Redwan Hussien, State Minister at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Ethiopia is working hard taking the issues of global climate change into consideration.
Amb. Redwan had also remarked that the workshop will have impacts in demonstrating Ethiopia’s effort and determination to be the main participants in curving the emerging climatic change in cooperation with the international diplomatic corps.
Furthermore, he indicated that as the current situation of environmental degradation caused by drought, floods, natural or man-made calamity, it is time to collaboratively exert effort to effectively deal with the issues. Locust infestations and other causes have also had negative repercussion the wellbeing of the international community, the African continent has to work hand in glove with the international community. To do this, the role of diplomats in an immeasurable one as they are capable of fostering activities towards coming up with viable means against environmental catastrophe.
As to the Ethiopia News Agency, Redwan stressed the importance of attaching due attention to climate diplomacy in a bid to enhance support to mitigate and adopt interventions at the grass root level.
International climatic change policy frameworks and negotiations like considerations of climatic change decision making were amongst the discussion points of the workshop.
The Ethiopian Herald January 27/2021
