Merat Abbebe

Ethiopian environmental activist who pioneered large-scale reforestation initiatives in East Africa

Merat Abbebe (born 1975) is a visionary environmentalist from Ethiopia whose work has transformed ecological landscapes across the Horn of Africa. As founder of the Green Africa Foundation, she developed the 'Tree for Every Child' program that planted over 10 million trees by 2020. Her innovative approach integrates education with environmental action, training thousands of students in sustainable agriculture techniques. Abbebe's advocacy led to Ethiopia's national reforestation policy reforms in 2015, which expanded protected forest areas by 25%. Her work has been featured in National Geographic and BBC News.

Abbebe's grassroots campaigns include the 'Women's Forest Guardians' initiative that empowers rural Ethiopian women to manage community tree nurseries. This program has reduced deforestation rates by 30% in participating regions. Her TEDx talk "Planting a Future" (2018) has over 2 million views, inspiring global environmental movements. Abbebe's methodologies have been adopted by UNDP programs in Kenya and Tanzania, demonstrating her impact beyond Ethiopia.