Green Legacy Initiative contributing to preserving indigenous plant species in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, June 27, 2024 (FBC) – The national afforestation campaign being held under the Green Legacy Initiative in Ethiopia has been instrumental in preserving indigenous plant species in the country, Gulele Botanical Garden reports.

Ethiopia is one of the leading countries in the world with its rich biodiversity as the country is endowed with more than 6,000 plant species of which 600 are endemic.

This natural resource has been experiencing threats due to various reasons including climate change, pollution and misuse of natural resources.

However, the Green Legacy Initiative being implemented for the last five years has given paramount importance to the forestation and preservation of indigenous trees.

Reports indicate that during the last five years of the Green Legacy Initiative; more than 32 billion trees seedlings were planted with a survival rate of 90 percent.

As the result of the activities conducted through the initiative, Ethiopia’s forest cover report had increased to 23.6 percent by 2023 from 17.2 percent in 2019.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during the Green Legacy pre-launch program held last week disclosed plan to plant 7.5 billion trees under the National Green Legacy initiative this year under the theme “Generation that strengthens the country by planting trees.”

The consecutive tree planting campaigns conducted over several years in the country continued to focus on planting ingenious trees, it was learned.

ENA talked to Brehanu Belay, Director of Research and Development at Gulele Botanical Garden on matters related to efforts underway to conserve and preserve indigenous trees close to extinction in the country.

The Director said that tree planting campaigns that have been conducted over the last years have helped to provide an opportunity to realize the importance of nurturing and preserving trees for the use human beings and promoting the cognitive capacity of the citizens in the country.

He further noted that implementation of the National Green Legacy Initiative has enabled the center to expand its outreach program in popularizing and increasing the awareness of the public on the importance of planting and nurturing indigenous trees in the country.

The center is duplicating indigenous tree seedlings and supplying them to various institutions and communities to be planted as part of the national green legacy initiative, he said.

The center is collecting samples of indigenous trees that are close to extinction and reproduce them in the center to ensure their survival.

The Director mentioned that indigenous plants and trees that are used for traditional medicine and those used for lumber are among those trees vulnerable to extinction.

He further noted that the task of preserving these indigenous trees should not be left to a single organization but should be done in a more coordinated manner at national level.

The center is currently working with various universities in the country as part of an effort to expand the preservation of trees species that are vulnerable to extinction.