Following Ethiopia’s successful tree plantation campaign on Monday, a number of prominent international media outlets have given a wide coverage to the occasion.
The ambitious initiative led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed aims to help restore the country’s landscape, which experts say is severely affected by deforestation and climate change.
On Monday, July 29th, a large number of Ethiopians from all walks of life have participated in the tree plantation campaign which was set to plant more than 200 million trees in 12 hours and break the world record. The current World Record for planting trees in a single day is held by India, which used 800,000 volunteers to plant more than 50 million trees in 2016.
The program is part of the Ethiopian government’s target of planting 4 billion trees this rainy season, which was officially began by the Premier last May under “GreenLegacy” national project.
While more than 350 million saplings were planted on that particular day, Ethiopia’s tree planting initiative has so far witnessed the planting of more than 2.6 billion seedlings across the country.
The initiative has also received the support of various international organizations, including United Nations agencies, as well as development partners due to its positive role in the fight against climate change.
It is the active participation of citizens and other stakeholders that enabled the country to break the world record of planting a large number of trees within a day with such a wide margin. That is why the occasion has attracted the attention of prominent international media outlets who gave wide coverage to the issue.
In its story ‘Ethiopia ‘breaks’ tree-planting record to tackle climate change’, BBC reported that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is leading the project, which aims to counter the effects of deforestation and climate change in the drought-prone country.
Prime Minister Abiy launched the tree-planting exercise as part of his Green Legacy Initiative, which is taking place in 1,000 sites across the country. Staffs from the United Nations, African Union and foreign embassies in Ethiopia have also been taking part in the exercise, reported BBC.
The other influential media outlet, CNN reported that the burst of tree planting was part of a wider reforestation campaign named “Green Legacy,” spearheaded by Prime Minister Abiy. Millions of Ethiopians across the country were invited to take part in the challenge and in 2017; Ethiopia joined more than 20 other African nations in pledging to restore 100 million hectares of land as part of the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative.
In the same story, CNN also stated that a recent study estimated that restoring the world’s lost forests could remove two thirds of all the planet-warming carbon that is in the atmosphere because of human activity. The study, carried out by researchers at Swiss university ETH Zurich, calculated that restoring degraded forests all over the world could capture about 205 billion tons of carbon in total. Global carbon emissions are around 10 billion tons per year.
The Guardian on its part mentioned that the planting is part of a national “green legacy” initiative to grow four billion trees in the country this summer by encouraging every citizen to plant at least 40 seedlings.
Quoting Dr Dan Ridley-Ellis, the head of the centre for wood science and technology at Edinburgh Napier University, The Guardian added that “Trees not only help mitigate climate change by absorbing the carbon dioxide in the air, but they also have huge benefits in combating desertification and land degradation, particularly in arid countries. They also provide food, shelter, fuel, fodder, medicine, materials and protection of the water supply.
“This truly impressive feat is not just the simple planting of trees, but part of a huge and complicated challenge to take account of the short- and long-term needs of both the trees and the people. The forester’s mantra ‘the right tree in the right place’ increasingly needs to consider the effects of climate change, as well as the ecological, social, cultural and economic dimension.”
The Washington Post, CEO Magazine, TWC India, and Africanews, have also given coverage to Ethiopia’s tree plantation.
Quoting the Associated Press, The Washington post also reported that Ethiopia is in the midst of a tree planting campaign in which it aims to plant 4 billion trees between May and October.
According to CEO Magazine, Ethiopia the second most populous nation in Africa has been hard hit by deforestation and climate change. Now, Ethiopia is taking big strides to reverse the damage.
TWC India on the other hand reported the objective of Green Legacy is to raise awareness and to make people take responsibility and reverse environmental degradation.
Since May when the tree planting drive was launched, the Prime Minister made it a focal point of all his meetings and engagements around the country, according to Africanews. The Premier planted seedlings with all guests that visited him at his office. He also planted special saplings in honour of slain officials of the June 22 assassinations in Amhara region and Addis Ababa.
Staff and representatives from the UN family, African Union, Diplomatic Corps and Ethiopians from all walks of life gathered in Gullele Botanical Gardens and in a park in central Addis Ababa to play their part.
Additional trees were planted in the compound of the Economic Commission for Africa, which also houses other UN agencies, according to Africanews.
The Ethiopian Herald August 1/2019
BY STAFF REPORTER
