Ethiopia surpasses 56 billion tree seedlings in national restoration project

Ethiopia has planted approximately 56.8 billion tree seedlings as of the end of its 2026 planting campaign.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed shared these results during the COP31 Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, Türkiye. He described the Green Legacy Initiative as a national movement that mobilizes citizens, families, and institutions to restore degraded land and expand forest resources across the country. The initiative began in 2019 and has already surpassed its initial goal of 50 billion seedlings.

Public participation reached a peak on August 3, 2026, when people across the country planted 805.3 million seedlings in a single day. The government says this effort has increased national forest cover from 17.2 percent in 2019 to 23.6 percent in 2023. The program now includes multipurpose species like mango, avocado, and coffee to link environmental goals with food production and income for local communities. Ethiopia is expanding the initiative internationally through the Plant Africa Fraternity Initiative.

Ethiopian youth have traveled to Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Nigeria to share conservation techniques, while the country has also extended activities to Pakistan and supplied seedlings to Djibouti. The government plans to reach a target of 65 billion seedlings by 2027 as it prepares to host the COP32 summit in Addis Ababa.