Ethiopia ‘breaks’ tree-planting record to tackle climate change

Some government offices have been shut down to allow civil servants to take part in the campaign Ethiopia has planted more than 350 million trees in a day, officials say, in what they believe is a world record. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is leading the project, which aims to counter the effects of deforestation and climate change in the drought-prone country. Some public offices have been shut down to allow civil servants to take part. The UN says Ethiopia’s forest coverage declined from 35% of total land in the early 20th Century to a little above 4% in the 2000s. Africa Live: More on this and other stories The leader promising to heal a nation The women smashing Ethiopia’s glass ceiling Mr Abiy launched the tree-planting exercise as part of his Green Legacy Initiative, which is taking place in 1,000 sites across the country. Officials were assigned to count the seedlings being planted by volunteers, reports BBC’s Kalkidan Yibeltal in the capital, Addis Ababa. Ethiopia’s Minister of Innovation and Technology Getahun Mekuria tweeted that more than 350 million trees were planted in 12 hours: BREAKING NEWS!! ETHIOPIA PLANTED 353,633,660 TREE SEEDLINGS IN 12Hours #GreenLegacyEthiopia #PMOEthiopia pic.twitter.com/TewfqNzXMN — Dr.-Ing. Getahun […]

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