Addis Ababa - Some 10 000 hectares of forest are destroyed every year in southeast Ethiopia's Gambella state in fires started deliberately by farmers seeking arable land, the pro-government Walta Information Service reported on Monday. Particularly affected are the districts of Gambella, Itang and Abobo, close to the border with Sudan. Chopping down trees for firewood and construction has also contributed to the process of deforestation. Across the south of the country, some 70 000 hectares of forest were lost in March 2000, in the same kind of woodland attrition. Between 150 000 and 200 000 hectares of forest are lost every year in Ethiopia, which has about three million hectares of woodland in all.

Source: Ethiopian News September 12, 2017 08:26 UTC