Millions of Ethiopians are taking part in an ambitious nationwide campaign to plant 700 million trees in just 24 hours. The initiative exists as a component of a broad environmental program which protects natural habitats while reducing climate change impacts until the organization achieves its 2026 goal of planting 50 billion trees.
The project, known as Green Legacy, was launched in 2019 by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. According to Ethiopia’s Minister of Communication, Tesfahun Gobezay, around 14.9 million people have participated in the campaign so far, and as of this morning alone, nearly 355 million seedlings had already been planted.
While the government’s figures cannot be independently verified, the Associated Press reports that the campaign has received widespread support across the country, which has a population of more than 120 million. The program has resulted in the planting of 40 billion seedlings since its start and the authorities plan to add 7.5 billion more trees to the forest by 2025.
To encourage mass participation, many government offices were closed for the day, and thousands of civil servants were deployed across the country to assist with planting activities.
