The people of Ethiopia have planted approximately 353 million trees in a 12-hour period, as part of a national initiative to fight the effects of deforestation and climate change.
On July 28, people all around the East African country came out in force to plant the trees. The minister of innovation and technology, Dr Getahun Mekuria, tweeted estimates of the number of trees planted throughout the day, with the final total being 353 million. Around 3.5 million trees were planted around the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, while the province of Oromia planted approximately 211 million saplings. The previous world record for the most trees planted in one day was 50 million in India in 2016.
UN figures put Ethiopia’s forest coverage at just 4% in the 2000s, while it stood at 35% a century earlier. The record-breaking event is part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s “Green Legacy” initiative, which aims to reforest large swathes of the land. In an attempt to counteract the effects of deforestation, logging, land clearances and climate change in the country, the Ethiopian Government is encouraging every citizen to plant at least 40 seedlings to grow 4 billion trees by the end of the rainy season in October.
The effects of climate change have affected Ethiopia, and it is prone to extreme weather events such as droughts and flooding. According to the World Wildlife Find, deforestation is responsible for more than 15% of global greenhouse gases. Forests play a critical role in mitigating climate change because they act as a carbon sink. They soak up carbon dioxide that would otherwise be free in the atmosphere and contribute to ongoing changes in climate patterns, which is why the Ethiopian initiative is such a welcome one.
