On Tuesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed inaugurated the country’s program to plant 6 billion trees across the country this year, which comes before the election with Abiy hoping to highlight his focus on the environment.
This is the third year in a row that Abiy – Nobel Peace Prize winner 2019 – is urging Ethiopians to plant billions of trees, part of his “Green Legacy” campaign to promote ecotourism and combat the effects of climate change.
Africa’s second most populous country is preparing for national and regional parliamentary votes scheduled for June 5, although the Electoral Commission announced at the weekend that it needed to be postponed due to logistical problems.
As officials work to identify a new date, Abiy urged Ethiopians to overcome ethnic, regional and religious differences and unite for the planting period, which usually lasts until October.
“A plant is not related to politics. Because we are in politics, as a country that will hold elections in less than a month, we will fight for a month,” Abiy said at a meeting of united regional leaders and ministers.
“But the Green Legacy project that we are starting today will continue until September and October. After the election, it will continue, not only for the government but also for the citizens.”
At Tuesday’s launch, in a meeting hall filled with freshly watered plants, Agriculture Minister Omar Husen said more than 10 billion trees were planted in the first two years of the Green Legacy effort.
The goal is to reach 20 billion by the end of next year.
This year, the government also plans to send 1 billion seedlings to neighboring countries.
Problem solved
The first planting round in 2019 encountered problems related to tree placement.
In the capital Addis Ababa, some residents planted ornamental trees in wild forests outside the city center, while others placed large trees in the median on the lively streets – where they had no chance of surviving.
Officials say they have learned from these hooks and Omar reported on Tuesday that about 80% of the trees planted so far had survived.
Abiy told Tuesday’s meeting that the Green Legacy effort deserved as much attention as other events in Ethiopia – a clear reference to ethnic conflict and the six-month-old war in Tigray that world leaders warn could trigger a humanitarian catastrophe.
“The world’s largest media (outlets) have largely preached about our war, conflicts, security and high-level disagreements,” he said.
“These media (organizations) will now prove if they are really friends of Ethiopia. If they preach about the green heritage at that level, it will reveal that they can balance the good and the bad and not hide the good.”
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