Despite the global pandemic, Ethiopia has successfully planted 5 billion tree seedlings – a month ahead of the conclusion of the rainy season – as part of the 2020 Green Legacy Initiative.

At the closing ceremony, held in Bahir Dar on 12^th August, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed thanked all Ethiopians for actively responding to the call for the greening campaign.

“We started this year’s Green Legacy in Hawassa and we close it in Bahir Dar. In between two ceremonies in two lake towns, Ethiopians have once again shown we can rise to the occasion of planting our generational legacy,” the Prime Minister said in a social media post.

“Ethiopians have once again shown we can rise to the occasion of planting our generational legacy.”

– PM Abiy Ahmed

Officially launched by Prime Minister Abiy on 5^th June, coinciding with World Environment Day, the 2020 Green Legacy tree-planting campaign is a demonstration of Ethiopia’s efforts to sustain biodiversity and commitment to green, climate-resilient growth.

pic.twitter.com/UjhgSXUTb4

— Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) August 12, 2020

As part of the Green Legacy, Ethiopia has set an ambitious goal of planting 20 billion trees. Last year’s campaign saw the planting of over 4 billion seedlings nationally, including a record-breaking 353 million seedlings in one single day on 29^thJuly.

In 2021, Ethiopia aims to plant 6 billion trees.

The Prime Minister said that Ethiopia will gift 1 billion trees to neighbouring countries to help green the region as well.

…UNHCR plants trees in refugee camps as part of #GreenLegacy

Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative has given a new impetus to UNHCR’s environmental rehabilitation and reforestation programme.

So far, during the current rainy season, UNHCR has coordinated the planting of over 755,000 multi-purpose trees in the 26 refugee camps across the country, as well as in the neighbouring host community sites. This will continue during the rest of the rainy season.

In August, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, joined regional and local authorities, representatives of the government refugee agency – ARRA, NGO partners and refugees in planting a variety of tree seedlings at the Bambasi refugee camp in the Benishangul-Gumuz region. The camp shelters approximately 18,000 Sudanese refugees.

Climate change contributes to the underlying causes of conflict and displacement. From drought and famine to more frequent extreme weather events, the impacts of climate change are most acutely experienced by the world’s most vulnerable and marginalized populations, including refugees and their host communities.

Ethiopia is one of the largest refugee hosting countries in Africa, sheltering 769,310 registered refugees and asylum seekers as of 31^st July 2020.