On the coming Monday, Ethiopians irrespective of any differences age, culture, language, ethnic or religious background or political ideology will act upon a task voluntarily and leave a legacy on the future with a spirit of unity and aspiration of hope, joy and bright future.
Ethiopians will plant 200 million saplings in a single day, which will be a record high in the world. By doing so, they will reassure commitment to protect and preserve the nature so as to promote a healthy and green environment.
The seedlings planting program initiated by the government aims to rehabilitate country’s degraded lands and convert open lands into forests, regain nation’s forest coverage and thereby to build climate change resilient economy.
So far, as part of the program, including Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and members of his cabinet, senior federal and states’ officials, ambassadors and diplomats, civic organizations and religious leaders, employees of governmental and nongovernmental institutions, among others have taken the lead and planted seedlings.
In this regard, thousands of seedlings were planted at the premises of National Palace, degraded lands, on the edge of bodies of water and urban centers.
It is clear that Ethiopia’s forest resource is dwindling from time to time at unprecedented rates due to trends of cutting forests for fuel and building materials. Owing to this, the country has experienced harsh climatic challenges that lead it to degradation of ecosystems, loss of biodiversity, dilapidation of productive agricultural lands and water resources gave rise to droughts and food insecurity.
The deed we did in the past decades knowingly or unknowingly is now costing us a lot. Unless we take timely drastic measures to stave off the challenge, the effects will be much worse and calamitous in the years ahead than now.
To avert some of the worst scenarios of the occurrences, planting seedlings is an appreciable act and the only way to regenerate degraded areas. If we each do our part to succeed the initiative, we can make a real difference in forest conservation and climate action.
The seedling plantation program apart from reclaiming country’s forest resources and stepping up its green economy effort, it would have substantial contribution to mitigate global climate change impacts. To this effect, we have to work now and strive to perk up our future by means of protecting and preserving the environment in every possible way.
As everything is within our capacity to restore and flourish our environment, let us take part in this historic action as we all are responsible to avoid it.
The Ethiopian Herald July 23/2019
