Ethiopia planted over 353 million trees in 12 hours, which shattered the previous 66 million tree record.
The incredible burst of tree planting was part of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative. Abiy Ahmed, the country’s Prime Minister, founded the project. Ahmed encouraged millions of Ethiopians all over the country to take part in the challenge. After the 12 hour period, Ahmed announced that the Green Legacy goal had been exceeded.
Within the last few decades, Ethiopia’s forest has declined significantly. According to Farm Africa, only 4% of Ethiopia’s land is forested. The entire country has been experiencing the devastating effects of climate change through deforestation, flooding, droughts and depleting agriculture.
Ahmed took note of the country’s climate crisis and decided to take action. The tree-planting project exemplifies Ethiopia’s dedication to fighting climate change. Larger forests will create clean air and remove some of the planet-warming carbon from the atmosphere.
