Green Award Program to Be Launched

The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)
NEWS
May 8, 2005
Posted to the web May 8, 2006

By Yonas Abiye
Addis Ababa

Preparations are underway to launch the Green award program envisaged to serve as a tool for environmental advocacy by encouraging environmental awareness and practical actions to combat environmental degradation in Ethiopia as well as initiating environmental activists, Forum for Environment (FfE) disclosed on Thursday.

At a press conference FfE organized at the Global Hotel, Coordinator of FfE, Ato Nigusu Aklilu, told reporters that the main objective of the green award program was to initiate an annual award program to individuals and institutions involved in environmental protection and management in order to recognize, acknowledge, celebrate and disseminate good initiatives.

Nigusu further said the award was intended to encourage the actors to do more in the future, motivate other people to contribute their share to the betterment of the environment, and foster political will of the government and donors to invest more in the environment He said Ethiopian environment has been deteriorating from time to time largely due to man made causes.

"This has made the country vulnerable to persistent and widespread poverty." The Coordinator disclosed also that despite the odds, there were good initiatives and actions being implemented to change the lives of the people and the threatening of the environment so far.

"Against all these odds, there are also many good initiatives, ideas and practices of individuals, institutions and the government, which are being implemented in various corners of the country, changing the lives of peoples and positively influencing the environment." Noting the benevolent contribution to the success of the program, Nigusu added that H. E. Girma Woldegiorgis, President of FDRE was serving as a patron of the program.

\He further noted that "Green award program is envisaged to serve as a tool for environmental advocacy by encouraging environmental awareness and practical actions to combat environmental -degradation in Ethiopia."

According to Nigusu, the project encompasses the whole country, first at a regional level and then at a national level.

A national green award committee which comprises 21 individuals from different institutions and walks of life has been set up by the FfE Board and the technical advisory group including President of EFDR, People from the House of Representatives, Artists, Environment activists, Academicians, Government authorities, Youth representatives, Journalists, Individuals from the private sector and business community etc.