The Ethiopia Green Legacy Initiative embarks exemplary landscape restorations: Evidence from the Gurage and Wolaita Zones of Ethiopia

The “deploying Diversity for Resilience and Livelihoods” project has documented the success story of restoration of degraded lands as part of the GLI, interventions in the Ezja district of the Gurage Zone, Central Ethiopia, and in Humbo and Boloso Sore districts of the Wolaita Zone, South Ethiopia. Works done at these districts have made significant contribution for restoration of highly degraded landscapes, through various soil and water conservation measures, gulley management and tree planting campaigns. GLI has been effectively implemented in the sampled districts in the past couple of years and result a successful rehabilitation of degraded lands that were totally bare and degraded before the intervention. Today, land restoration and rehabilitation become an integral part of annual development planning at various levels in Ethiopia. Such persistent and continued commitment both at federal and regional levels has brough a promising success in restoration and reclamation of degraded landscapes, creating greener Ethiopia and combating climate change effects in Ethiopia and beyond. This article highlighted an inspiring success story from the Gurage and Wolaita Zones of Ethiopia where the GLI intervention witnessed superb impacts in reversing degraded landscape.