Ministry Launches 10-Year National Forest Development Program

Addis Ababa  October 08/10/2018 Ethiopia has launched a 10 year National Forest Sector Development Program (NFSDP) targeted to serve as the main guiding document for coordinating strategic policy interventions. The Program launched today by the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MEFCC) in collaboration with UNDP.   Launching the program, Minister of MEFCC Gemedo Dalle said the climate resilient Green Economy (CRGE) recognizes that deforestation and forest degradation must be reversed if the country is to meet its development goals. Therefore, Ethiopia has set triple goal of attaining middle income status while pursuing net-zero emission economic growth and building resilience by 2025, he said. “Ethiopia`s Ten Years National Forest Sector Development Program together with other initiatives, we are launching today, will serve as roadmap for coordinating strategic policy interventions and sector wide investments,” Gemedo noted. He stated that the program contains transformational action programs for catalyzing GDP, generating employment, and contributing towards self-sufficiency in forest products. UNDP Country director Louise Chamberlain said on her part that the goal of the plan can only be achieved with strong involvement of the people of Ethiopia and government leaders at all levels and across the country through strong partnerships. The NFSDP will ensure an increase in Ethiopia`s forest coverage to 20 percent in 2020 and 30 percent in 2025 and make forest a core sector in economic structural reforms. It will also be a major source of income for people living in rural areas, diversifying income for small holder farming households, she stated. A UNDP Study showed that, the forest contribution to GDP is 12 percent as opposed to 2-4 percent in the current GDP calculation for the forest sector. Ethiopia`s forest coverage has reached to 15.5 percent currently.