The country must halt the planting of eucalyptus trees persistently underway as part of the reforestation program for the sake of protecting the biodiversity, a senior official of the country's heritage trust said.
Planting eucalyptus trees may solve immediate problems and for a short term, but there is a danger in ignoring its long term effects on the country's biodiversity, Professor Legesse Negash, president of the Ethiopian Heritage Trust (EHT), said.
The Professor was speaking at the 7th annual meeting of Ethiopian Heritage Trust (EHT) held at Italian Cultural Institution during which he stressed the need for the country to watch the growing number of eucalyptus tree planted to protect deforestation.
He said eucalyptus trees are now replacing the indigenous plants and species rapidly in most parts of the country where reforestation programs are taking place.
"The tree can create many problems on the wealth of the country's biodiversity as it has little advantages in preserving active elements that are vital to the ecology of the environment", the president told participants of the meeting.
According to the president, the Trust is developing more than 300,000 indigenous tree seedlings to be distributed to the public in connection with the Ethiopian millennium.
"As our indigenous tree are the most precious heritages of the country, the Ethiopian Heritage Trust is planting and start to see the fruit of it in the north west part of Addis Ababa called Entoto", Professor Legesse said According to public relations officer Zenebe Desta, the Trust was successful in averting the dangers of the Eucalyptus trees at a pilot site around the capital, it secured form the City administration.
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"Various wild animals that used to live in Entoto area have begun to reappear in the area of those measures 1,300 hectare land received with the support of the Addis Ababa administration for national park," he told The Daily Monitor.
"This is due to conservation and other mechanism put in place to control the disturbance of the area following the designation of the hill for the national park", he added.
The public officer also said wild animal like Minilk bushbuck, rabbit, monkey, fox, duiker, and others have now "begun coming to sight." Ethiopian Heritage Trust (EHT) is formed in 1984 in order to preserve the country's heritage and pass on to the coming generation
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