Green Legacy Focus on Indigenous Species Vital to Maintain Ecosystem: EBI

Addis Ababa August 3/2024 (ENA) Ethiopia's Green Legacy Initiative, which has won significant local and international recognition, focused on planting indigenous species to maintain the country's biodiversity and the long-term sustainability of its diverse ecological landscape, Ethiopian Bio diversity Institute (EBI) told ENA.

Ethiopia's Green Legacy Initiative, launched by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in 2019, has seen  planting of seedlings in billions. 

Director General of the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI), Melese Maryo said the Green Legacy Initiative initially encouraged planting of various tree species to combat deforestation and climate change. 

The EBI has since then emphasized the importance of indigenous trees over exotic species, he said. 

"At the beginning, people planted any available seedlings, but now we are promoting the importance of indigenous trees rather than exotic species," the director general said.

This increases both the number and types of plants, expanding forest cover, he said, adding the expansion of forest cover significantly contributes to biodiversity enhancement as our planet's beauty and life depend on plant life.

By drawing from international experiences, the director general cited an example from Pretoria, South Africa, where the replacement of exotic trees with indigenous ones led to the resurgence of streams and springs. 

"Indigenous tree species are well adapted through evolutionary processes to the local environmental conditions, utilizing limited water compared to exotic ones," he explained. 

The director general stressed that indigenous trees mitigate climate change impacts by preserving water resources and preventing desertification. 

Acknowledging the utility of some fast-growing exotic species for timber production and other  purposes, he reiterated the need for indigenous trees for biodiversity conservation. 

According to him, EBI has significantly increased its propagation of indigenous trees, from one million to four million today. 

"This is a great achievement for us," he remarked.

Historically, Ethiopia boasted of its forest coverage of 60% of its total land area. Over time, this verdant expanse dwindled to 40%, and in recent memory to 3 %, with a combination of anthropogenic and natural factors.

However, the Green Legacy Initiative, has made a turnaround. 

Over the past six years, over 32 billion seedlings have been planted, including numerous indigenous species through concerted public efforts.

Consequently, Ethiopia's forest cover has rebounded to 23.6%.

In this year's Green Legacy Initiative, under the slogan, " the institute has prepared nearly four million indigenous seedlings, including species like Kosso, birbira, Ethiopian Juniper, and bamboo, he said.

These seedlings have been distributed across nine centers under the institute and to other organizations. 

The 2024 Green Legacy Initiative was launched by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on June 29 in Hayk town, South Wollo Zone, with plans of  planting over 7.5 billion seedlings. 

The initiative continues to make significant strides in reversing biodiversity loss and promoting ecological restoration across Ethiopia.