In a race to reforest the desert, Ethiopia just planted 5 times as many trees as India did when it broke the world record two years ago

In an effort to reverse deforestation and desertification (caused primarily by agriculture) African and Asian countries are rapidly planting billions of trees.

In 2017, India broke the Guinness World Record by planting 66 million trees in 12 hours.

Now, Ethiopia has beat that record 5-fold, planting 350 million trees in 12 hours.

Currently only 4% of the country’s land is forested, down from 35% just a hundred years ago.

The mass planting took place at 1,000 sites across the country.

The government even shut down many offices for the day so its employees could help plant the seedlings.

The government has also asked every citizen in the country to plant 40 trees by the end of the summer to help reach the larger goal of 4 billion trees by October.

Source: Return to Now