Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley Renaissance recognized as UN World Restoration Flagship

Yerevan, 29 October 2026 – The UN today recognized Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley Renaissance as a World Restoration Flagship for its efforts to revive one of the Horn of Africa’s most degraded forest landscapes, strengthening livelihoods and climate resilience.

The initiative has brought more than 23,000 hectares of degraded land under restoration. This was done through planting and regenerating native trees, conserving soil and water, and providing forest-friendly jobs. The initiative aims to restore more than 38,000 ha by 2030 – an area more than half the size of Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley Renaissance is led by WeForest and local communities, and is backed by government, non‑government organizations, and research institutes.

The initiative is helping restore habitats for at least 104 different tree species, including the revival of endangered Nubian Dragon Tree (Dracaena ombet), and supporting the return of wildlife to the landscape, including threatened species such as the African leopard, Cinereous Bunting.

Announced at a high-level event during the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia, the Great Rift Valley Renaissance was recognized alongside restoration initiatives in China, Colombia, Italy, and the United States.

The World Restoration Flagships are awarded under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). They recognize ambitious and promising examples of large-scale, long-term restoration and contribute to global commitments to restore one billion ha of degraded ecosystems by 2030 – an area larger than China.

To date, 35 World Restoration Flagships have been recognized, collectively aiming to restore more than 74 million hectares. More than 19 million hectares are already under restoration.

“Midway through the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, these World Restoration Flagships show that nature can recover when we give it the chance,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “But we are not yet restoring nature at the scaleor speed required. By 2030, we must turn inspiring initiatives into systemwide action–protecting what remains and restoring what has been degraded.”

The Desa’a fragmented forest covers two regions in northern Ethiopia – Tigray and Afar. It previously covered an area of 154,000 hectares, but land-use change led to the degradation of around 70 per cent of the forested area.

Restoration efforts have already helped retain an estimated 500,000 tonnes of soil and capture 1.9 million cubic metres of rainwater each year – enough to fill around 760 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The initiative has created nearly 16,000 job opportunities, around 60 percent of them for women – with over 18,000 projected by 2030, including foresters, community trainers, nursery workers and livelihood experts. Restoration is also increasing the amount of carbon stored in the area. The initiative estimates potential carbon capture at 6 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent after 50 years.

“Communities nurturing their ecosystem invest not only to improve their livelihood but maintain stewardship of Mother Nature for the next generation,” said Dr. Mitiku Haile, Professor of Soil Science and Sustainable Land Management at Mekelle University in Tigray, Ethiopia. “This is what makes the Desa’a forest at the great rift valley escarpment unique in fighting desertification and agricultural expansion.”

Local communities are central to the restoration effort. Strong forest stewardship has been established across 11 villages, while 6,693 households benefit from sustainable jobs – 57 per cent of them held by women – through forest-friendly livelihood activities, including beekeeping and honey production, agroforestry and fruit-tree cultivation, as well as poultry and sheep-rearing programmes.