Why did Ethiopia plant 566M trees in one day?

Ethiopians have embarked on an ambitious campaign to plant more than 500 million trees in 24 hours in an effort to achieve a greener and cleaner environment in the country and tackle the adverse effects of climate crisis.

The campaign was launched by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who participated on Monday alongside senior officials from his government.

“Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and First Lady Zinash Tayachew launched the Green Legacy 500 million in a day tree program by planting apple trees together with staff of the PMO,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

Ahmed said citizens actively participated in the campaign and Ethiopia had achieved its plan to plant at least 500 million trees nationwide.

He said that 566 million seedlings had been planted in every area of Ethiopia from early in the morning until Monday evening.

Green Legacy Initiative

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Birtukan Ayano, who also participated the tree-planting exercise in the ancient city of Harar, said the Green Legacy Initiative has a great national significance.

She said Addis Ababa has made a commitment to continuously contribute to international efforts to achieve “a greener and cleaner world while tackling the adverse effects of climate change.”

Ethiopia is one of the worst climate change- related drought affected countries in the Horn of Africa region.

According to a recent report, 24 million people are currently living in drought affected areas in the country with 11 million people estimated to be food insecure, while an estimated 6.85 million livestock deaths have been reported since late 2021.

Africa as whole is increasingly exposed to climate shocks, although it only contributes about 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.