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Planting 1 Million Trees

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A discussion with Gashaw Tahir of the Greenland Development Foundation

Gashaw Tahir is an American citizen born in Ethiopia. He started the Greenland Development Foundation (GDF) as an effort to plant 1 million trees in his native country, with the objective of revitalizing natural resources and providing opportunity and employment to those who helped with the effort.

Q: What inspired you to focus on tree planting?

Tahir: When I went back to my birth country, Ethiopia, after so many years of living in the USA, the dense forests near my hometown, which used to shelter wild animals, was completely gone. They became eroded, degraded and abandoned. I also witnessed so many young people on the streets with no hope. That opened up an opportunity to start the reforestation project and empower and inspire young people at the same time.

Q: What’s the toughest challenge you faced in implementing this project? How did you overcome that challenge?

A: The toughest challenge was getting permission from the local community and securing the land from the government. However, by explaining the benefit of the project that would bring economical, environmental and social benefit to the community, I was able to collaborate with local and regional government. We showed them results and got more land.

My passion is to make a difference for young people. So no matter what the challenges or circumstances, I had to go out and act with what I had available at the time. Once you start, things get easier and easier.

Q: What other benefits have come from this project?

A: It created jobs and opportunity for over 450 skilled workers, and training for unskilled workers. This project brought together young people from local Muslim and Christian faiths. They got to know each other by working together. And their differences became less and less.

Q: How have you seen climate change challenges and solutions bring people together?

A: Climate change is a global problem and it needs global action. The problems and the benefits are shared by everyone. Hence the solution should be sought in collaboration.

Q: Should people focus our efforts more on reforestation and tree planting or preventing deforestation in the first place?

A: Reforestation and tree planting wouldn’t have to be considered if there hadn’t been deforestation. Deforestation is due to increasing consumption of wood products. Hence it seems unstoppable. But in my opinion, we should try to solve the problem from both directions.

Q: How would you encourage young people around the world to take action in their community, even if they live in a dense urban environment?

A: I would encourage wise use of resources, planting small gardens, planting trees everywhere and promoting the use of recycled products. In addition, educating young people about the impacts of climate change and creating a possibility for them to take part [in curbing it] is also of paramount importance.

Q: Where does GDF go from here? Do you have any other projects you’re working on?

A: We are in the initial stages of planning our next projects, which include spreading to other regions and focusing more on [jobs for] women, who are often the breadwinners and will help their families.

GDF hopes to plant more trees on 11,000 acres [4,452 hectares] of land. Planting fruits and vegetables for the livelihood benefits community and also creates jobs in farming and marketplaces.