World Vision Ethiopia mobilises over 547,000 community members in a day to plant 6.9 million tree seedlings

Under its Green Legacy initiative, Ethiopia is planting 500 million tree seedlings a day. As the initiative adds momentum to the fight against deforestation, desertification, climate change, and the ensuing food insecurity that has been plaguing the country for decades. On July 17, 2023, World Vision Ethiopia joined the Ethiopian Government’s "Planting 500 Million Tree Seedlings in a Day" initiative by planting tree seedlings in all of its Area Programmes (APs) across Ethiopia. World Vision Ethiopia APs planted more than 6.9 million tree seedlings on 6,000 hectares by mobilising more than 547,000 community members, government partners, and staff.

The multi-purpose tree seedlings are mainly indigenous trees, including acacia, coffee, guava, and moringa, meant to intentionally address the impact of climate change and ensure community-level food security through diversifying income and sustainable revenue alongside practising forestry, agroforestry, and beautification.

For decades, World Vision, in collaboration with its partners, has been implementing various pro-environment projects, including Farmers Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) and the recent Regreen Ethiopia projects, in order to address the impacts of climate change and alleviate poverty while ensuring sustainable livelihoods at the community level. 

To this effect, World Vision Ethiopia’s Integrated Livelihoods and Nutrition Security Technical Programme (ILaNS) has been working towards the promotion of climate-smart and environmentally sustainable agricultural production and the restoration of degraded landscapes.

Farmers Managed Natural Regeneration, a low-cost and innovative afforestation approach, is unique in that it is managed by farmers who play an active role in restoring the natural environment and ecosystem.

In 2022, World Vision Ethiopia reached and educated over 159,000 community members on improved sustainable and climate-smart agriculture techniques, environmental conservation, and natural resource management techniques.

World Vision’s Humbo Farmers Assisted Natural Regeneration project also won global recognition by becoming the first on the continent to earn United Nations-administered carbon credits. 

The Humbo project, which is managed by World Vision and the Ethiopian Forestry Department, has inspired local residents to rehabilitate more than 2,700 hectares of barren land.

By Fekadu Ethiopia, Communications Coordinator (ILaNS), World Vision Ethiopia