How Ghana and Ethiopia Are Boosting Their Forests

A delegate stands in front of a backdrop for the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) during the opening of the High-Level Leaders Summit in Addis Ababa, on Sept. 8, 2025. Credit - Luis Tato—Getty Images

In the face of Africa’s rapid deforestation in past decades, many countries in the continent are now starting to see progress in combating forest loss—and making inroads in reforestation efforts.

Leaders from Ethiopia, Ghana, Norway, and Denmark spoke of the effectiveness of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative and other African-led deforestation solutions, highlighting the importance of improving global support for these initiatives, during a panel moderated by TIME’s chief climate officer Shyla Raghav. The conversation took place on Sept. 9 during Africa’s Second Climate Summit, hosted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Green Legacy Initiative was launched in 2019 by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to tackle climate challenges, reverse land degradation, restore ecosystems, and build climate resilience. Since launching the initiative, the country has seen a sharp decline in deforestation—down from 92,000 hectares (over 227,000 acres) in 2013, to 27,000 hectares (around 66,700 acres) in 2023 and 2024—and planted over 48 billion seedlings to aid in reforestation efforts, according to Kebede Yimam, director-general of the Ethiopian Forestry Development Unit.

Linking emission reductions with the country’s development goals has enabled the country to make quick progress on multiple fronts, said Mensur Dessie, climate institutional development advisor at the Ethiopian Ministry of Planning and Development. Ethiopia launched a 10-year development plan in 2021 to guide the country towards climate resilient green development by 2030, integrating sustainable practices throughout sectors including agriculture, forestry, energy, transport, and water.

“We are now successfully launching these strategies that could really help Ethiopia to achieve its development aspirations that have been set for 2030 and 2050 as well as address…greenhouse gas emission reduction and building resilience across the sectors,” Dessie said.

What’s more, focusing on restoring natural resources has had a direct impact on the livelihoods of Ethiopians, said Motuma Tolera, deputy director-general of forestry development in the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture.

“We have communities which were engaged in [restoration], and they have already started to harvest the foods and then make livelihoods—even the export level of these foods is rising a lot,” he said.

Panelists also spoke of the importance of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), a voluntary U.N. framework that financially rewards developing countries for emission reductions from reduced deforestation. While REDD+ has faced controversy over the years, including claims that projects overestimate their claimed carbon cuts, speakers said the program has helped with local reforestation efforts.

Roselyn Fosuah Adjei, director of the Forestry Commission Training Centre in Ghana, shared some of the country’s experiences implementing REDD+. As of 2024, the country has received and dispersed over $20 million in funds from the World Bank for combatting deforestation. Adjei stressed the importance of involving stakeholders like local leaders, private sector, and various government branches.

“Implementing REDD+ on the ground needs governance arrangements where you know who does what,” she said. “Local communities have their own farms. What must they do on their farms? What must the private sector do to support local communities? What must civil society do to support that process as well?”

A number of countries, including Ghana, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have begun to receive payments for REDD+ progress, highlighting the program’s efficacy and momentum, said Ellen Bruzelius Backer, deputy director of the Norwegian International Climate and Forestry Initiative. Norway is one of the donors behind the LEAF-Coalition, which seeks to purchase verified emission reduction and removal credits and has agreed to purchase future credits from Ethiopia. “Traction comes after a lot of hard work in a lot of countries,” she said.

But there is still more work to be done. Africa has the highest rate of deforestation in the world. About 3.9 million hectares (9.6 million acres) of African forest—roughly the size of about 381 million soccer fields—was destroyed every year between 2010 and 2020. “We believe [nature-based solutions] offer a sustainable way forward for Africa,” said Sune Krogstrup, Denmark’s ambassador to Ethiopia, one of the investors in Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative. “But it's also clear that more investments and political commitments are needed from all stakeholders to advance this agenda.”

Coverage of the Second Africa Climate Summit is presented by the Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance.

Write to Simmone Shah at simmone.shah@time.com.