During my recent trip to Ethiopia, I witnessed the transformative power of water within WeForest’s holistic, community-based reforestation approach. Beyond planting trees, WeForest builds comprehensive supports and combines local knowledge and innovative science. WeForest and our partner communities are achieving remarkable results by harnessing water for People, Nature, and Climate.
Join me in celebrating World Water Day by taking a glimpse into my journey through the Desa’a Forest and exploring what’s being done to control water flow, stop flooding, harvest water for seedlings and livestock and feed depleted natural springs.

The lush, green “core forest” of our project area shows how important it is to restore the water cycle in this arid landscape. Desa’a is one of the remaining patches of forest in northern Ethiopia, covering an area of 154,071 ha and located in the western escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, which is suffering desertification and frequent drought. Click on the image to see a short video of the core forest.

These long stone ‘bunds’ at the top of a deforested hillside control water runoff, retain sediment for healthy soils, irrigate our newly planted trees, and feed natural springs in the mountain below. Over 300km have been constructed – both like these at the top of mountains, and also stone terraces on the hillsides.
If you’d like to talk about how you, your company, or philanthropic foundations can support this and all the other amazing work that’s being done by the communities in Ethiopia’s Tigray, don’t hesitate to contact me at dave.bircher@weforest.org.