About Ethiopia

                                           

Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea on the north, Sudan in the west, Kenya in the south, Djibouti in the northeast, and Somalia in the east. The second-most populous African nation, Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world, and the only African nation to have enjoyed continuous sovereignty throughout and beyond the Scramble for Africa, excepting a brief occupation in World War II. Often regarded as the "Cradle of Humanity" for the ancient traces of humanity unearthed there, Ethiopia is the second oldest officially Christian nation, converting in 4th century AD.

At 435,071 square miles (1,127,127 km²), Ethiopia is the world's 27th-largest country (after Colombia). It is comparable in size to Bolivia, and is about two-thirds as large as the US state of Alaska. The great diversity of terrain determines wide variations in climate, soils, natural vegetation, and settlement patterns. Lake Tana in the north is the source of the Blue Nile. It also has a large number of endemic species, notably the Gelada Baboon, the Walia Ibex and the Ethiopian wolf (or Simien fox). The wide range of altitude has given the country a variety of ecologically distinct areas, this has helped to enourage the evolution of endemic species in ecological isolation.

Historically an intersection of African and Middle Eastern civilizations, Ethiopia has more recently become a crossroads of global international cooperation: it became a member of the League of Nations in 1923 and signed the Declaration by United Nations in 1942, founded the UN headquarters in Africa, was one of the 51 original members of the United Nations, and is currently the headquarters for and the main founder of the former Organisation of African Unity.

                                     

Deforestation is a major concern for Ethiopia as studies suggest loss of forest contributes to soil erosion, loss of nutrients in the soil, loss of animal habitats and reduction in biodiversity. At the beginning of the Twentieth century around 42 million hectares or 35 percent of Ethiopia’s land was covered by trees but recent research indicates that forest cover is now approximately 11.9 percent of the area. Ethiopia is one of the seven fundamental and independent centers of origin of cultivated plants of the world, and loses an estimated 141,000 hectares of natural forests each year. Between 1990 and 2005 the country lost approximately 2.1 million hectares.

Current government programs to control deforestation consist of education, promoting reforestation programs and providing alternate raw material to timber. In rural areas the government also provides non-timber fuel sources and access to non-forested land to promote agriculture without destroying forest habitat.

Organizations such as SOS and Farm Africa are working with the federal government and local governments to create a system of forest management.