Ethiopia’s Green Heritage Initiative is preparing to plant more than 6.5 billion tree seedlings in the coming season, according to Adefres Worku, the Coordinator of the Initiative’s Technical Committee. The programme has prepared 504,000 hectares of land out of 1.8 million for planting after soil and water conservation works.

From 2000 to 2013, the country lost an average of 92,000 hectares of forest cover every year. The initiative aims to halt this decline and preserve forests for the country’s future. This is reported by
ENA.

Apart from the environmental benefits, Adefres stressed the diverse merits of the programme. It creates jobs in nurseries and industries such as animal husbandry, beekeeping and fruit growing. In addition, the programme aims to enhance Ethiopia’s reputation in the world for addressing climate change.

Adefres emphasised that the Green Legacy initiative will have a comprehensive positive impact on Ethiopia, encompassing economy, society, diplomacy and climate change mitigation efforts.

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