UNOPS Stresses Need for Expanding Ethiopia's Green Legacy Initiative across Africa

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.