BY EPHREM ANDAGRACHEW
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has launched Green Legacy Initiative in 2019. The Initiative targeted to see 20 billion trees planted across the nation by 2022. The initiative is vital to withstand the negative impact of climate change and environmental degradation that contributed to flooding, soil erosion, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. Additionally, it uses to combat drought and desertification.
Acquainted with the significance of green legacy activities, the Initiatives have been implemented not only in Ethiopia but also expanded in neighboring countries namely Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, and Sudan.
More interestingly, the initiative targeted planting 20 billion tree seedlings from 2019 to 2022. Nonetheless, the country has achieved this by planting 25 billion tree seedlings which increase the forest coverage of the country. The initiative, apart from combating the negative effects of climate change, encourages people to plant fruit trees which supports ensuring food security and nutrition.
Taking the achievement of the initiative into consideration, Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed was awarded the ‘Outstanding African Leadership Award’ in recognition of the Green Legacy Initiative. The award has taken place on a special occasion under the theme of “Africa: The Urgency of a Global Mobilization” prepared by the American Academy of Achievement and the Global Hope Coalition in Washington DC.
During the occasion, Dr. Abiy expressed gratitude to the American Academy of Achievement and the Global Hope Coalition for extending a hand of friendship to the African continent and for recognizing Ethiopia’s Green Legacy initiative as an African success story.
“Indeed, the continent is filled with many success stories not only in the past, but present, and future. The perspective that African countries are net producers of problems that always require external assistance is an outdated one. Hence, it is a great appreciation to the coordinators for lighting a torch on the continent’s net production of solutions” he stated.
“In the course of these 3 months, the Green Legacy initiative invites the people to come out of their homes and places of work, walk out in unison to a field with a seedling in hand, dig a little hole in the ground and place the seedling.” Accordingly, four years into the implementation of the Initiative, the county has mobilized 25 million Ethiopians across the nation to plant 25 billion tree seedlings which are equivalent to 250 seedlings per citizen. Therefore, the impact of the initiative could be equated to removing 64 million gasoline-powered cars from the roads for a whole year, Prime Minister noted.
Nowadays, the Initiative is the most extensive afforestation and reforestation program next to the Amazon. Furthermore, with the efforts of afforestation and reforestation campaigns, Ethiopia has put over 700,000 hectares of existing biodiversity and carbon-rich natural forests under a sustainable participatory forest management scheme, Abiy indicated.
By 2022, the initiative has fostered a flourishing national green culture, tripling the number of seedling nurseries to more than 121,000; creating more than 750,000 jobs mostly for women and youth; and generating 1.3 billion Ethiopian Birr in income. Ethiopia also accorded seedlings to neighboring countries to bolster regional cooperation for transboundary ecosystem management.
In fact, the Initiative contributes towards removing the equivalent of hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduces deforestation. “This implies Ethiopia’s significant contribution to the global climate change mitigation efforts,” he added.
Ethiopia’s tangible contribution to the overall global afforestation and reforestation pledge is impressive by any standard, but even more so when it has been financed primarily by domestic resources and efforts. Building on this success, Ethiopia plans to restore an additional 22 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 he said, adding “we are also developing a green fund and will pursue carbon trading schemes to help raise additional financing.”
“As a nation, we may and we do have differences in the way we interpret the past and the way we envision the future. nevertheless, we are united in the hope we have for our children and our planet. We aspire to reverse deforestation and build a green society in Ethiopia and Africa. We have no doubt that our Green Legacy story will motivate a global mobilization toward reconciling our modern civilization with our planet and ecosystems,” he underscored.
It is well acknowledged that setting plans to combat climate change, putting a vision for greenery, motivating the entire population to plant tree seedlings, and are the best way to fight climate change. Moreover, the award motives Ethiopia to complete 22 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 which could be taken as an African success story.
The Ethiopian Herald December 14/2022
