Ethiopia mobilizes citizens to rebuild forests
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In 2019, the Ethiopian government launched the Green Legacy Initiative, and citizens across the country began planting trees to reverse decades of deforestation.
From 2000 to 2025, Ethiopia lost 560,000 hectares of tree cover due to agriculture, logging, and fuel needs. The initiative aims to plant 50 billion trees by 2030, and the government reports planting 48 billion trees in the past seven years. While independent verification of long-term tree survival is ongoing, early data suggests positive impacts.
Ethiopia’s annual deforestation rate dropped roughly 70 percent, from 92,000 hectares in 2013 to 27,703 hectares in 2023, and forest cover increased from 15.5 to 23.6 percent during the same period. Yitebitu Moges of the UN Environment Programme acknowledges uncertainty around survival rates, but believes even a 50 percent success rate would still benefit the country by improving moisture retention, soil health, and carbon sequestration.
In the Berbere district of Oromia, Halima Kedir inspired her community by planting trees despite initial skepticism. She views the seedlings as family, walking an hour each way to provide them with water. WaterAid Ethiopia has supported this effort by distributing 55,000 indigenous tree seedlings, reporting an 85 percent growth rate.
The Ethiopian parliament now allocates between $63 million and $140 million annually to land restoration, and the country will host COP32, the UN climate summit, in 2027, partly due to this reforestation work.
