Ethiopian Institute of Biodiversity

The past droughts of Wolo and Tigrai, the floods of Dire Dawa, the blackouts of our Electricity supply, the shortage of food due to erratic rainfalls are all directly or indirectly associated with the lost services of our forests. [...] The author of this article, Botanist by profession and born in the “lost forests” part of 1 Biodiversity Monthly Newsletter Ethiopia, travelled to Axum through the Addis Ababa-Dessie-Mekelle-Axum road and witnessed the state of the “lost” and remaining forests of northern Ethiopia. [...] All the way to Axum is a trip through the “lost and found” forests, the „moon‟, which we usually do not give value unless we are travelling during the night! The church forests are still there with graceful appearance as eye-witnesses, telling us the story that once those degraded and recovered areas were with the same status to virgin forests. [...] Gemedo Dalle, Director General of the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation, welcomed participants and stated that “Ethiopia, being signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, is honored to celebrate the first International Day of Forests in one of the richest forest biodiversity regions, Bale Goba. [...] The Day is commemorated with the objective of raising awareness on conservation and sustainable utilization of our forests.” The Forests of Ethiopia have diminished from 40% in the 1940′s to below 3% in the 1980′s.