Ethiopia has planted over 350 million trees as part of a national “green legacy” initiative to plant and grow 4 billion trees by October. Their government is doing this by encouraging every citizen to plant at least 40 seedlings.
353,633,660 Tree Seedlings Planted in 12 Hours. This is in #Ethiopians
— Dr.-Ing. Getahun Mekuria (@DrGetahun) July 29, 2019
Regional Shares of Trees Planted today.#PMOEthiopia #GreenLegacyEthiopia pic.twitter.com/2BkTDtYedC
The country and this project are aiming to do their part in the current climate crisis by tackling the ever-growing issue of deforestation and climate change.
Ethiopia broke records with this recent tree planting day that occurred Monday. State employees were given the day off and encouraged other citizens to play their role in the project. “I think we demonstrated the capacity for people to come together collectively and deliver on a shared vision,” said Billene Seyoum, Abiy’s press secretary.
India held the previous world record for the most trees planted in one day standing at 50 million.
“This truly impressive feat is not just the simple planting of trees, but part of a huge and complicated challenge to take account of the short- and long-term needs of both the trees and the people. The forester’s mantra ‘the right tree in the right place’ increasingly needs to consider the effects of climate change, as well as the ecological, social, cultural and economic dimension,” says Dr. Dan Ridley-Ellis, the head of the center for wood science and technology at Edinburgh Napier University.
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