As tree cover has diminished land across Ethiopia has dried out and become less fertile

Four billion trees, equivalent to 40 per person in Africa’s second most populous nation, will be planted across Ethiopia to fight deforestation.

The ambitious campaign is an effort to improve the barren rural landscape and leafless cities where tree cover has fallen from 35 per cent in the early 20th century to 13 per cent today.

As he planted the first seedling Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister, said the trees would help to “transform our degraded environments for healthy lives and functional ecosystems”.

Ethiopia has been celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies but the rapid expansion of its agriculture, construction and service sectors — as well as its ballooning population, now 105 million — have taken their toll on its natural environment. As