.

Niesen musste ich,
und dabei verlor ich die
Lerche aus dem Aug’!

Yayû (1701-1783)

 Photo taken by Fabrian.

At a time when over six million of its people are starving because of lack of prioritization, the Ethiopian government is signing yet another deal with China to develope coal reserve by destroying the thickly forested Yayu region in Ilu Aba Bora. The rainforst in Yayu region is one of the last forests left in Ethiopia but the current irresponsible government is eyeing it for its next distractive move. Previously, the Ethiopian government has burned down forests in various parts of Oromia with pretense of smoking out rebel soldiers.

Now they have changed their tune and added developmental excuse like the time they told us they are exporting flowers to Europe and Asia while its own people are hungry for food. Is coal the only energy source that Ethiopia has? Doesn’t Ethiopia has many rivers that could easily provide lots of hydroelectric power? Don’t we need to preserve the forests to fight the intermittent drought? What is the priority for Ethiopian government? Is it feeding the starving Ethiopian people or feeding energy hungry China with more coal to go ahead and pollute the world in return? Previously done studies showed that this project  is not eco-friendly and was terminated. Why is the government neglecting the environmental concern of the people and approving this deal now?

Map of Ethiopia: main forest areas in dark green and forest areas with coffee in light green[*4]

Source: Universities of Bonn & Addis Ababa, Coffee Conservation Research Project in Ethiopia 2005