The first year of the second phase of the Ethiopian Green Legacy Initiative (GLI) that was launched under the theme ‘Let’s plant tomorrow today’ was concluded last Monday, September 18, 2023.
The second phase that was launched following the success story of the first program has also witnessed added feats.
In the second phase carried out in the just concluded rainy season, Ethiopia managed to plant 500 million tree saplings in 12 hours and made history by planting 566,971,600 million seedlings.
And all together, in this year’s tree planting program, a total of 7.5 billion trees were planted by mobilizing millions of Ethiopians from all walks of life.
Last Monday, the concluding program of this year’s Green Legacy Initiative was held in the Jogo Basin area, Lome Woreda, East Shewa Zone of Oromia State, in the presence of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, chief administrators of states, and heads of agriculture bureaus.
Speaking at the program, Prime Minister Abiy said that following the undesirable impacts of climate change, a number of deliberations have been conducted at the global level. Unluckily, the practical paces made to reverse the challenges were not at the desired level. However, Ethiopia, through its groundbreaking Green Legacy Initiative, is taking practical measures and performing exemplary actions.
Mentioning the target to plant 25 billion tree seedlings in the second phase of the initiative program, the Premier said that efforts will be exerted to increase the number of saplings planted in both phases to 50 billion. He also lauded the determination and perseverance of Ethiopians.
The commitments shown by Ethiopians in the past five years to rehabilitate the country’s degraded lands and mitigate the undesirable impacts of climate change are bearing fruits.
Since GLI was first launched in 2019, it was made possible to mobilize millions of Ethiopians and plant 32.5 billion seedlings across the country.
The success aside from supporting the country to increase its forest coverage and contributing to global efforts exerted to combat climate change; it has yielded multifaceted results. It has raised the awareness of the people regarding the significance of preserving nature in a sustainable manner for the current and future generations.
The initiative has also created jobs for young people engaging in planting tree seedlings. Its contribution in ensuring food security is also pivotal as significant portions of the tree seedlings included edible fruits. This fact was also appreciated at the African Climate Summit 2023 that took place in Nairobi, Kenya.
As the COP28 President-Designate and the UAE’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, Sultan al Jaber (PhD) indicated; Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative is enhancing food security. The initiative is also stimulating green jobs across the Horn of Africa setting examples for the world, he remarked.
Just as important, Ethiopia’s green legacy program is playing a significant role not only in mitigating climate change impacts but also promoting peace, development, and strengthening diplomatic relations, collaboration and cooperation among countries of the horn and beyond in addressing environmental challenges. It has inspired many countries facing similar challenges and compelled them to follow suit – to plant seedlings and restore degraded lands thereby reducing the undesirable impacts of climate change.
In actual fact, GLI is a bequest that yields positive impacts not only for the present but also for the succeeding generations. In this regard, the responsibility of preserving the environment lies on each of us. Thus, we should further strengthen collaboration and cooperation to attain GLI’s target to realize a greener Ethiopia and create a more sustainable future.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2023
