Addis Ababa July 30/2022/ENA/ United Nation Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Ethiopia Country Director, Worknesh Mekonnen, underscored the need to exert efforts to expand the Green Legacy Initiative across Africa.
It is to be recalled
that Ethiopia had launched the Green Legacy Initiative in 2019 to address
various environmental challenges by promoting a green culture. The plan was to
plant 20 billion trees across the country over four years.
The nation has already
planted 18 billion trees with the participation of 20 million citizens over the
last three years.
In an exclusive
interview with ENA, UNOPS Ethiopia Country Director, Worknesh Mekonnen said “we
should transfer this kind of positive culture across Africa. In Addition, we
need to do more in terms of building that culture.”
Worknesh stated that
UNOPS had been actively participating in the previous tree planting campaigns
noting the plan to continue planting trees for this year’s campaign.
“Every year, we plant
trees as UNOPS. Last year we planted around Entoto and before last year we have
planted in Adama. And this year we also have a similar plan to plant trees. We
are just choosing the right place where we need to plant. We try to put our
mark in terms of the green legacy and we are very much support the initiative”.
The Country Director
appreciated the Green Legacy Initiative being carried out in Ethiopia pledging
to provide support to its accomplishment.
The Ethiopian Green
Legacy Initiative is one of the best mechanisms to curbing environmental
challenges caused due to climate change that has been affecting the global
community including Ethiopia, she said.
“I think it’s a public
secret in terms of the climate’s impact. Ethiopia is not any unique it’s a
global challenge that we’re facing globally in all aspects. the heat wave now
we’re going through for example in Europe and other places whatever the summer
is going on and you can see the increasing floods in every place that there is
rain including countries like Ethiopia. So I think, to be honest, it’s one of
the best initiative that we’re very much supportive”.
She further expressed hope that the whole of Africa will really take it seriously to averting the challenges of climate change.
“Climate is real and it’s with us and it’s about time for us to wake up and do something about it,” the Country Director urged.