In addition, soil-stabilizing vetiver and seedlings are being planted. In this way, the local people are fundamentally changing the landscape of their region, with the aim of returning it to its original state.
The project is compatible with Ethiopia’s plans to build an economy with low carbon dioxide emissions. It is a high-flying goal: by 2025 Ethiopia is to become a carbon dioxide-neutral and climate-friendly country with medium incomes. The “Climate-Resilient Green Economy” (CRGE) strategy prepared for this purpose embraces three goals: reduced emissions, reduced vulnerability to the consequences of climate change and securing economic growth.
The massive effort on Mount Kundudo is all the more remarkable because it is not necessarily those who performed the work who will benefit from it, but rather their children and grandchildren. For the past two centuries this has been a principle that forestry circumscribes with the term ‘sustainability’.