BY BACHA ZEWDIE
It has been years since world nations shown concern and began to respond to the effects of climate change. The climate change resulted in the temperature rise sharply; ice is melting and various cities are inundated with floods. On the other hand, citizens are suffering from the effects of the drought.
Various experts in the field have argued that climate change has cost the world dearly and will continue to do so. The book “Collapse -: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed”, published by American Professor Jared Diamond in 2005, states: “Communities that do not manage and use their natural resources are at risk of unintended erosion,” he said, stressing that conservation and utilization of nature is a matter of survival.
In her commentary: “Climate change is a major threat to global growth,” a notable Africa News writer Kizi Asla, stated that By 2050, climate change will deprive 18 percent of the world’s gross domestic product, Asia’s economy will suffer the biggest setback, China will lose 24 percent, the United States 10 percent and Europe will lose 11 percent of its gross domestic product.
Various international studies have suggested that the effects of climate change on the economy are making millions more vulnerable to poverty. According to the World Bank, more than 132 million people could be living in extreme poverty by 2030 as a result.
Various countries that have been affected by climate change and other crises are beginning to pay special attention to climate change and are pursuing their agenda as part of their policy.
Today, everyone is working on a solution to the global carbon crisis. Efforts are under way, but researchers say that in terms of carbon footprint, it is not working as well as it should.
“If you want to cope with climate change, you can’t think without tree above all else,” Experts in the field have repeatedly said that forest cover needs to be significantly increased in order to reduce the effects of climate change.
Ethiopia is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. It has neither the ability to cope with the effects of recurrent drought nor and climate change. Although reforestation is an important solution to the effects of climate change, Ethiopia’s forest resources, which play an important role in economic growth and climate change, have been declining for many years.
It has been years since Ethiopia, which cannot withstand moderate climate change, began implementing a climate-resilient green economy strategy. Much emphasis has been placed on reversing deforestation and deploying the forest to support the country’s economy. The country grows seedlings every winter, mobilizing her citizens to increase her depleted forest resources.
Although the people have traditionally planted seedlings following the winter season through government and non-governmental organizations in the area, billions of seedlings have been planted in the past three years, especially under the Green Legacy Initiative of Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
The Prime Minister’s Green Legacy is a national idea that is widely accepted and shared by many. Especially, the achievement Ethiopia succeeded by planting over 4 billion trees on the Nationwide “Green Legacy Day” of July 29, 2020, is memorable breaking India’s Guinness World Book record in 2017 planted 66 million seedlings in a single day initiating its 1.5 million citizens.
Efforts to plant trees, which are believed to play an important role in maintaining climate balance that include mitigating soil erosion by water and wind, have moved majority of the local communities. So far, the sustainability rate for the national seedling transplant program has been more than 80 percent.
Ethiopia’s goal to sustain its economic growth is related to the proper use of natural resources. The green economy strategy is a revolution that resists climate change availing low carbon emissions.
On the one hand, studies suggest that the strategy will create an environment that accelerates development and growth and ensures sustainability. In addition to conserving and benefiting from nature, it has become an effective way to protect against the dangers of pollution and destruction.
According to various scholars and studies, forest resources are one of Ethiopia’s potential natural resources and development opportunities. The economic, ecological and social benefits of conserving, developing and using forest resources are significant.
At a time when industrialization, deforestation, and the like are sweeping the world around carbon emissions, the best solution is to plant seedlings. There are no imitation for planting seedlings and benefiting from the outcome. In addition to saving wildlife and wild animals, it also protects against floods, food insecurity, environmental conflicts, and so on.
The planting of sapling is the best medicine for Ethiopia, which is suffering from deforestation. Forests contribute greatly to soil and water conservation, carbon emissions, biodiversity, land productivity, human health, and the socio-economy.
The National Forest Sector Development Program, designed to realize the importance of forests to Ethiopia’s overall economy, is believed to ensure the economic and social benefit of the people as well as resilient to climate change.
Given Ethiopia’s potential, it has to increase its production of wood products; however, the country imports wood products due to inability to meet its demand for forest products as a result of deforestation.
Paying special attention to the green legacy in the implementation of the green economy will enable Ethiopia to earn foreign exchange by exporting value-added timber and other forest products to various countries. To benefit from this, however, it is important to not only plant and care for tree seedlings, but also to practice forest handling and management in a professional manner.
Planting seedlings also protects erosion of billions of tons of soil caused by deforestation, depletion of agricultural productivity; and Safeguards Rivers, lakes, and dams from siltation. Like Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa, it will help to generate foreign exchange by modernizing the natural forest and making it a tourist destination.
Ethiopia’s goal to sustain its economic growth is related to the proper use of natural resources and her focus on forest development in particular is a visionary one. It plans to plant 20 billion seedlings in four years.
This year, 6 billion seedlings will be planted nationwide and one billion seedlings will be given to neighboring countries under the “Let’s Dress Ethiopia” program. Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan and Kenya are among the recipients.
Over the years, Ethiopia has contributed not only for itself as a country, but also to the global effort to save carbon emissions by planting billions of seedlings in one day.
Various international media and scientists are praising and urging Ethiopia to play its part in solving the world’s problems by mobilizing its people and giving it the necessary support. They urged Western countries; in particular those take the upper hand in contributing for the climate change; need to work closely with countries such as Ethiopia.
Augustos Santos Silva and Warner Hoyer in a commentary on News Brake on “How to ensure a green road ahead for Africa,” also stressed European countries, which have agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030, the need to work closely with other countries to achieve their plans.
They emphasized the need to work closely with Africa, which contributes only 4 percent of carbon emissions on the atmosphere, but, which is said to be the main culprit in the crisis.
This idea is shared by many scholars and writers in the field. Tariye Gbadegesi, one of them, in her extensive commentary on foreign policy entitled “A Green Africa Is the Key to a Greener World”, said: “If the United States does not work more closely with African countries on climate change, its global leadership role will be in vain.”
Instead of waiting for support, Ethiopia, which is playing its part in solving the world’s problems, has joined hands to make a historic green imprint for next summer. Its citizens are looking forward to the opportunity to pass on their green imprint, green life and beauty to themselves, their country and their generation, planting seedlings and caring for those who are planted.
The Ethiopian Herald June 30/2021
