About Ethiopian Tree Fund Foundation (ETFF)
As we enter the new millennium, we need to recognize that all of us share a common purpose, obligation and duty to our country and fellow countryman. To achieve this unity of purpose we need to recognize that we are a diverse nation with a common mission of making Ethiopia a great and prosperous country. A mission of transcending antagonism and overcoming conflicts and establishes consensus to create a better life for our fellow mankind.
Deforestation and desertification of our land has become a national crisis. We all have our personal experiences in this regard and shared these stories with each other. But most particularly from those of us that grew up in the country side and who have gone back to visit our childhood village and have come back invariably in shock, at the condition we have found our birth places; areas where once was covered with trees and thick vegetation are now barren rocks and where once there was an overflowing river is a dry river bed.
This is an urgent call for action and time is running out. Our country is dying, but for that matter maybe our planet is also dying. By saving a small piece of earth we can say we have done our share to save the beautiful and most fragile planet-Earth. The Israelis have achieved a significant success in the area of reforestation and we should learn from their experience. Most of Israel was once an arid land with no or very little trees and vegetation, today Israel is the only country in the world with an annual net gain of forest land. This was achieved through the concerted reforestation effort of the Jewish community living in US and the rest of the world
Even though we are constantly overwhelmed by the news of the numerous and enormous problems that our fellow Ethiopians face on a daily bases, that finding ways to reverse the degradation of the ecosystem could be at the heart of finding solutions to most of our national environmentally caused problems, such as; draught, erosion, starvation, malnutrition and disease.
My message is to every one but most importantly to Ethiopians and persons of Ethiopian origin. As part of our mission we envision to explore the unlimited possibilities of enjoying and protecting the wild places of our home land; to practice and promote the responsible use of the land and its ecosystem and garner all of our resources to reforest our land, enlist fellow Ethiopians and other people of goodwill for the protection and restoration of the quality of the natural human environment.
We all remember the old Ethiopian saying Dir byaber anbessa yaser meaning if one can gather several rolls of knitting wool, one can tie up and incapacitate the mighty lion. So, lets join hands to conquer the deserts and dry lands that were ones lush with trees and wild vegetation and repopulate them with the wild animals that ones roamed the jungles of Ethiopia and with the many beautiful and indigenous birds that piped sweet music to our ears. We can do it!
Thank You and God bless Ethiopia.
Deforestation and desertification of our land has become a national crisis. We all have our personal experiences in this regard and shared these stories with each other. But most particularly from those of us that grew up in the country side and who have gone back to visit our childhood village and have come back invariably in shock, at the condition we have found our birth places; areas where once was covered with trees and thick vegetation are now barren rocks and where once there was an overflowing river is a dry river bed.
This is an urgent call for action and time is running out. Our country is dying, but for that matter maybe our planet is also dying. By saving a small piece of earth we can say we have done our share to save the beautiful and most fragile planet-Earth. The Israelis have achieved a significant success in the area of reforestation and we should learn from their experience. Most of Israel was once an arid land with no or very little trees and vegetation, today Israel is the only country in the world with an annual net gain of forest land. This was achieved through the concerted reforestation effort of the Jewish community living in US and the rest of the world
Even though we are constantly overwhelmed by the news of the numerous and enormous problems that our fellow Ethiopians face on a daily bases, that finding ways to reverse the degradation of the ecosystem could be at the heart of finding solutions to most of our national environmentally caused problems, such as; draught, erosion, starvation, malnutrition and disease.
My message is to every one but most importantly to Ethiopians and persons of Ethiopian origin. As part of our mission we envision to explore the unlimited possibilities of enjoying and protecting the wild places of our home land; to practice and promote the responsible use of the land and its ecosystem and garner all of our resources to reforest our land, enlist fellow Ethiopians and other people of goodwill for the protection and restoration of the quality of the natural human environment.
We all remember the old Ethiopian saying Dir byaber anbessa yaser meaning if one can gather several rolls of knitting wool, one can tie up and incapacitate the mighty lion. So, lets join hands to conquer the deserts and dry lands that were ones lush with trees and wild vegetation and repopulate them with the wild animals that ones roamed the jungles of Ethiopia and with the many beautiful and indigenous birds that piped sweet music to our ears. We can do it!
Thank You and God bless Ethiopia.
Demissew Gedamu, ETFF Co-Founder
