President Kersti Kaljulaid's state visit to Kenya. (Photo: Raigo Pajula / presidendi kantselei)

The forests of Uganda are under severe threat. They are being lost at a rate of almost 2% a year and from 1990 to 2010, the country lost 31% of its forest cover – a reduction from 19,000 square miles to just 14,000.

Deforestation has been caused by a rapid population increase, climate change, agricultural expansion, logging, weak legal protections, and poor enforcement of the laws that are on the books.

However, Uganda is replanting some of its deforested areas thanks to the help of people who live 9,000 miles away.

In 2008, a program was launched in Wales to plant a new tree in the country every time a child is born or adopted. The program was named Size of Wales because the phrase is often used to describe large areas that have been deforested around the globe.

The was so successful that it hit its target goal of planting 7,700 square miles of new forest by 2013. In 2018, organizers decided they would keep the program going with a new goal. This time they would protect an area twice the size of Wales.

They chose Uganda because of its threatened forests, focusing specifically on an area known as Mbale in the eastern region of the country. Mbale is a large hilly area that is heavily deforested and suffers from irregular downpours that cause potentially fatal landslides.

Size of Wales works with the Mount Elgon Tree Growing Enterprise to distribute free tree seedlings to local villagers. The trees protect the villagers by helping to prevent soil erosion and their fruit provides a reliable source of food and extra income.

The program has supported 1600 families in 30 villages as well as five free-trade coffee plantations.

"For more than a decade Wales has developed and deepened its community-based links with sub-Sahara countries in Africa," Jane Hutt, Wales' Minister of Social justice, said in a statement. "This mutually-beneficial approach has long supported sustainable development and solidarity, of which we can be justifiably proud."

The program which is funded by the long-standing Wales and Africa program has already planted 15 million trees. Now organizers have pledged to plant 3 million a year in Uganda to "support community resilience in the face of environmental challenges."

"The Mbale Trees initiative is an example of what can be achieved when nations work together to combat climate change," Julie James, Minister for Climate Change in Wales, said in a statement. "Our pledge to plant three million more every year for the next five years will deliver substantial benefits, not just for those within Mbale, but it will have a considerable global impact on climate change."

Now whenever a child is born or adopted in Wales, two trees are planted, one in their home country and another in Uganda. Every child that helped contribute to the tree planting is given a certificate made of recycled paper that shows they helped make this incredible environmental accomplishment. - Tod Perry, Upworthy

GERD reservoir reaches overtopping water level on July 19, 2021. Photo Anadolu Agency

Burundi believes the right to life for Egyptians comes before the right to development for Ethiopia in a row over a project, the country’s top diplomat said Tuesday.

He was speaking about the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a $4 billion hydropower project on the Blue Nile River which Ethiopia argues is crucial to its economic development and for providing power.

The project has triggered worries over water shortages and safety in Egypt and Sudan, which also depend on the Nile River’s waters.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in the capital Cairo, Burundi’s Foreign Minister Albert Shingiro said that while the hydropower project is a very sensitive issue, access to water is a matter of “life or death” to Egyptians.

“The right to life should always come before the right to development because, without the right to life, the right to development cannot be enjoyed. The choice here is clear,” Shingiro said.

Dismissing a military option to resolve the issue, the top Burundian diplomat underlined the need for the GERD dispute to be resolved through negotiations, cooperation, and legal agreements binding to all parties.

“We believe in the power of diplomatic endeavors and good deeds,” Shingiro said.

He reiterated his country's support for the initiative of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the current chair of the African Union, to mediate between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia.

“We believe that we should work on encouraging dialogue to reach solutions that would spare us tensions,” said Shingiro.

Egypt and Sudan have said while they support Ethiopia's plans to build the GERD in order to further its economic development goals, such development should not come at the expense of the interests of downstream countries.

The two countries’ attempts over the years of trilateral negotiations to convince Ethiopia to sign a comprehensive and legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam to safeguard all parties' interests are yet to bear fruit.

In July, Ethiopia announced the completion of the second filling of its controversial dam, despite the lack of an agreement with Cairo and Khartoum.

Shoukry commended Burundi, saying it has always supported Egypt after an “understanding of the core issues affecting Egyptian national security.”

Egypt has raised concern over the dam project, fearing its Nile water supplies, on which its life almost entirely depends, would be affected. Sudan has also expressed its fears about the dam’s safety and the effect on its own dams and water stations.

Last July, the United Nations Security Council backed an African Union bid to mediate the dispute and called for all parties to resume talks.

The US had also warned that Ethiopia’s filling of the dam had the potential to raise tensions and urged all parties to refrain from any unilateral actions. - James Tasamba, Anadolu Agency