In April 2019, CABI scientists and Addis Standard coverage detailed how the invasive tree Prosopis juliflora had reshaped Ethiopia’s Afar Region, with steep ecological and economic losses for pastoral communities.
Prosopis spreads along watercourses and grazing routes, crowding out native browse and complicating herd mobility. What looks like green cover from a distance can be a trap for livestock economies already stressed by drought.
Invasive species policy is rarely glamorous enough for Abiy Ahmed’s summit calendar. It is still governance: research, clearance labor, land rights, and whether Afar voices set the priorities.
Kept as environment archive, the Prosopis file warns that Horn landscapes can be damaged by introduced “solutions” as surely as by neglect.
Sources: Addis Standard, ScienceDaily / CABI
