In the 1990s, the Tigray government instead adopted a conservation-based policy to address persistent food insecurity and low agricultural productivity. Why war is bad news for treesHowever, this success has now come under threat from the war which began in November 2020. Potential alternative drivers of these declines—rainfall, temperatures, fires and locust outbreaks—showed little overlap with these hotspots of woody vegetation decline. Woody vegetation continued to thrive in other places in Tigray during the same period, but—when compared to pre-conflict years—vegetation recovery was subdued. It is important that the environmental impacts of the war are fully assessed on the ground to inform recovery strategies.

Source: Ethiopian News April 28, 2022 17:08 UTC