Ethiopia is trying to move from deforestation to reforestation. After hundreds of thousands of hectares of green cover were lost over recent decades due to agricultural expansion and increased extractive activities, the country has for some time been experiencing a reversal of this trend, thanks to institutional commitment and civil society engagement.

The government has involved the population in planting new trees, and a genuine grassroots environmental movement has taken shape, contributing to the reforestation of Ethiopia. In the country's most arid areas the success rate of this programme remains low, but the goal of the country — one of the most exposed in the world to the climate emergency — is to plant 50 billion trees by 2030.

The deforestation problem

Deforestation has been a long-standing problem in Ethiopia. Between 2000 and 2013 alone, the Horn of Africa nation lost an average of 92,000 hectares of trees per year due to population growth, increased pressure on the agricultural sector — which consequently expanded its boundaries by encroaching on forest — and rising extractive activity and demand for charcoal. Over the first 25 years of this century, Ethiopia's total loss of forest cover amounted to 560,000 hectares.

The high rate of deforestation is no small problem for a country that is among the world's most vulnerable to climate change. Climate-related disasters have multiplied over the years, and between landslides, floods and prolonged drought seasons, the toll paid by the Ethiopian population has been extremely high.

Ethiopian reforestation

In recent years the Ethiopian government has been stepping up its efforts against deforestation. In 2019 it launched the Green Legacy Initiative, a reforestation and environmental restoration programme. The cornerstone of the initiative has been the involvement of local communities in the planting of trees and saplings — an activity initially met with scepticism by the population, but one that has since seen its base of activists grow through a genuine ripple effect. The programme has in turn been accompanied by a series of other measures linked to sustainable land management and the green economy. In 2024, for example, the Ethiopian parliament established the Special Fund for Green Legacy and Landscape Restoration, mobilising between 0.5 and 1 per cent of its annual federal budget for the restoration of degraded landscapes.

By 2023 the annual deforestation rate had already fallen to 27,703 hectares, down from 92,000 hectares a decade earlier, while forest cover increased from 15.5 per cent to 23.6 per cent over the same period. Data from 2026 show that in seven years, since the Green Legacy Initiative was launched, 46 billion trees have been planted across the country. Raising awareness among local communities has also been driven by symbolically powerful initiatives, such as when 700 million trees were planted in a single day.

The plan for 2050

The Ethiopian government's goal is to reach the milestone of 50 billion trees planted by 2030. But beyond these figures, it is also necessary to reckon with the long-term success rate of this reforestation effort.

The country's particularly acute exposure to the climate emergency means that the survival of planted trees is not always straightforward, due to factors such as water scarcity and soil degradation. The director of WaterAid Ethiopia, Alebachew Adem, estimates a successful growth rate of 85 per cent, but some surveys from Ethiopia itself and from other parts of the world point to far lower percentages. For this reason, several researchers, together with staff from environmental organisations, are stepping up data collection in order to develop even more effective long-term reforestation strategies. In November 2027, meanwhile, Ethiopia's capital, Addis Abeba, will host the 32nd United Nations climate summit (COP32). A recognition of its commitment to tackling the climate crisis.