When reforestation is a matter of survival
As one of Africa's least developed countries, Ethiopia has long regarded its forests as a precious resource. The wood they produce is then used for carpentry, charcoal, firewood... Not to mention the destruction of forests to make way for pastures and agricultural fields, fires, urban development, open-pit mining, or the land privatization campaign of the last century, during which the government rewarded war veterans and civil servants with forest land... The balance sheets are catastrophic: by the beginning of the 21st century, Ethiopia had lost 98% of its forests, dropping from 60% forest cover in 1940 to 2.5% in the early 2000s.
The result is desertification of the land, making agriculture almost impracticable, significant loss of flora and fauna, severe soil erosion, loss of precious water through run-off... For the last ten years or so, faced with the ecological and social catastrophe whose effects it is already feeling, Ethiopia has been trying to tip the balance. The government has called reforestation the "challenge of the century" and is stepping up its campaigns. The results are already promising, although still insufficient: forest cover, which once represented 2.5% of Ethiopia's surface area, now accounts for 15%. It has to be said that politicians, local residents and NGOs are all pulling their weight. In 2019, Ethiopia even shattered the world reforestation record, planting 353 million trees in one day, compared with the previous record of 66 million set by India.
Far from carrying out its reforestation effort alone, Ethiopia has also joined international efforts such as AFR100, a pan-African union for the restoration of 100 million hectares of African land. What's more, Ethiopia is a member of the Great Green Wall project. This immense green wall is set to cross 8,000 km of Africa from west to east to combat the land desertification that threatens the economy and societies of the Sahara and Sahel. Although only 4 billion of the 100 billion trees promised for 2020 have actually been planted, Ethiopia has done its bit. Along with Senegal, it is considered to be the only country to have really put the project into practice, to the extent that its part of the green wall is almost complete.
Climate catastrophe
The Horn of Africa is a region particularly vulnerable to global warming. Long periods of drought give way to unprecedented flooding. Although the rainy season is becoming shorter and shorter (up to three quarters less rainfall in some years), the soil is becoming watertight as a result of drought and deforestation.
This unprecedented drought is causing major population displacements. In a country where over 80% of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods, herders and farmers are undertaking major migrations in search of a few green plots of land. By 2019, Africa's second most populous country was home to over 400,000 people displaced by drought and floods.
A dam between hope and fear
You only have to hear its name, the Great Renaissance Dam, to understand the hopes that Ethiopia is pinning on this hydroelectric dam, located close to the Sudanese border. The Ethiopian government's stated aim is to rapidly increase its electricity capacity, which is vital to the country's development. This brand-new dam is the largest in Africa. However, not only does it raise tensions with the countries located downstream on the Blue Nile (Sudan and Egypt), it could also cause significant environmental damage. The project, due to come on stream in 2023, is raising serious questions about its impact on erosion, the modification of the Blue Nile basin as an ecosystem, the disruption of the river's flooding and the species that depend on it, the impact on fish populations, on which fishing depends... While it brings hopes of economic development, the Renaissance Dam could also cause major ecological problems in the country.
Ethiopia's national parks
Of Ethiopia's twenty or so national parks, Awash is the oldest. This park in the heart of the country was opened in 1958. It features thorny forests, savannahs and numerous wetlands, fed by the Awash River. This highly diversified ecosystem is home to numerous animal species, including attempts to reintroduce the Swayne's hartebeest(Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei). This subspecies of Ethiopia's endemic antelope was once abundant in the country, but is now endangered, ravaged by a late 19th century epidemic and poaching.
The Senkele sanctuary is entirely dedicated to the protection of the ungulate. At least 500 hartebeest individuals can be counted along its 54 km surface area, making it one of the world's largest populations.
At 5,000 km2, Gambela National Park is the largest in the country. Established in the 1970s to protect an incomparably rich ecological breeding ground, including vulnerable antelope species, the park has not had the desired effect. A victim of its geographical position close to the border with South Sudan, it is the scene of a major migratory flow, leading to camps, farming and poaching. Yet it plays a key ecological role, witnessing one of the largest animal movements in Africa. Species have suffered as a result, but efforts, particularly to reduce poaching, have enabled the number of wild animals in the park to double between 2008 and 2012.
Finally, the Bale National Park is considered one of the most beautiful in the country. It is home to the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia's second highest mountain range. It is characterized by a high level of endemism, such as the Tachyoryctes macrocephalus, a rat species that finds its only habitat in these mountains, or the blue-winged goose(Cyanochen cyanoptera).
