Ethiopian Deforestation At 95%

OVERPOPULATION, FAMINE AND AIDS ARE ALL EFFECTS OF THE SAME CAUSE

Ethiopia used to be a nice place to live, but you might say things have taken a turn for the worse.

Historical sources indicate that in the early twentieth century about 42 million hectares or about 35 percent of Ethiopia’s land area were covered with forest, with perhaps another 30 percent savannah woodland. In the early 1950s, the remaining forest covered some 19 million hectares, or 16 percent of the total land area (EFAP, 1994). By 2000, the coverage was estimated at only 4.2 percent. That makes the Badlands look good.

The cause of Ethiopia's deforestation is poverty and overpopulation, manifested in a frenzied scramble of for farmland and fuelwood. The population has increased from about 43 million in 1984 to about 77 million now. With death by starvation a daily fact of life for millions and 3 million HIV-infected citizens, Ethiopia is a disaster that has already happened.

Once the forest has been destroyed, rains wash away the fertile soil. Unlike Americans, the Ethiopians don't have sub-divisions to replace the trees, so the place soon begins looking like the surface of the moon. And the trees don't readily grow back even if you plant them, as the climate is permanently changed.

This approach to land management didn't work out for the Easter Islanders, so there is reason to believe it isn't going to work out in Ethiopia.

Return to the Deforestation Map.