Fifty billion seedlings: Can Ethiopia replant its ravaged forests?

Ethiopia is in the middle of one of the world's largest tree-planting efforts, aiming to put 50 billion seedlings in the ground by 2030. The country has already lost most of its forests over the past century, which stripped away topsoil, worsened flooding and drought, and cut into crop yields for the roughly 100 million Ethiopians who farm for a living. In August alone, 26.6 million people planted 800 million seedlings in a single day as part of the government's Green Legacy Initiative, which also funds terraces, small dams, and other soil-conservation work alongside the planting.

Early results look promising: national forest cover rose from about 17 percent in 2019 to nearly 24 percent in 2023, and deforestation rates have dropped sharply. Some restored areas have seen rising water levels and the return of wildlife. But researchers caution that planting seedlings is not the same as growing a forest — trees need ongoing care, and studies of similar projects elsewhere show many seedlings die within a few years. A recent study of Ethiopian seedlings found about 80 percent survived, with much better odds when planters got training and planted in the wet season. Climate change is complicating the effort further, with heavier rains causing deadly landslides and erratic rainfall delaying planting seasons.

This story is about a national land-restoration campaign abroad, not a program homeowners elsewhere can tap into. There's no rebate or upgrade tied to it — it's simply a look at how one country is trying to rebuild forests and soil as climate change makes both harder to sustain.