Addis Ababa - Ethiopians dug in to help plant more than 200
million trees in the climate change-ravaged country on Monday,
breaking the previous world record.
"Today Ethiopia is set in our attempt to break the world record
together for a #GreenLegacy," Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office
tweeted earlier in the day.
Today #Ethiopia is set in our attempt to break the world record together for a #GreenLegacy. The 12hr countdown has begun.
ዛሬ በነቂስ ወተን #አረንጓዴአሻራ አብረን እያኖርን የአለም ክብረ ወሰን ለመስበር እንተክላለን:: #PMOEthiopia pic.twitter.com/9yTbi2IUPb
— Office of the Prime Minister - Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) July 29, 2019
More than 224 million saplings had already been planted by the
afternoon, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported,
beating the previous world record held by India.
Some schools and government offices were closed for the occasion and
the prime minister told fellow Ethiopians to "go out and make your
mark," as he planted his own tree in the southern city of Arba Minch.
Abiy's Green Legacy initiative, launched in May, aims to plant a
total of 4 billion trees by year's end.
Ethiopia's rapidly growing population and lack of arable land pose a
problem for the impoverished east African nation.
"In recent years environment has become a key issue in Ethiopia," the
United Nations Development Programme says on their website.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/PlantYourPrint?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PlantYourPrintCampaign, #Ethiopians have sofar planted more than 249 million trees in just one day! The achievement is beyond the original plan to plant 200 mil trees. #NationalPlantingDay #GreenLegacyEthiopia #አረንጓዴአሻራ #PlantYourPrint #GuinnessWorldRecords pic.twitter.com/p4ou3ZUIP9
— AbrahamM. Gemechu (@AMgemechu)
"The main environmental problems in the country include land
degradation, soil erosion, deforestation, loss of biodiversity,
desertification, recurrent drought, flood and water and air
pollution."