Haile Selassie

“ Measures will shortly be proposed to Parliament for action to be taken to preserve, for the benefit of present and future generations, the nation's forests which are not only valuable in themselves as a source of wood, but act as nature's guardian against the forces of erosion, which, unchecked, can transform fertile areas into barren and sterile desert. ”

“ It is the duty of all to apply the skill of their minds to the factories, the trading centres and the roads and communications which are also evidence of Ethiopia's prosperity, of Ethiopia's strength. ”

“ If trees are not presently planted to replace those being cut down from time to time, our constant efforts to conserve and develop the wealth of our country through the welfare of present and future generations will be rendered ineffective and futile. ”

“ Without agricultural expansion, industrial growth is impossible. Great strides, it is true, have been made in introducing industries into Ethiopia in recent years. But in any less-developed agrarian country possessing only limited possibilities for selling the products of its factories in world export markets, industry can grow only if there exists an increasingly prosperous rural consumer population. Industrialisation is not an alternative to the development of agriculture ”

“ In these days when all nations of the world, in recognition of the tremendous importance of forest wealth, have launched intensive programmes for forest conservation and re-forestation, it behoves our county also to take the appropriate measures to solve this problem. ”

“ The uses of trees are many and varied. Groves of trees protect our fields and plantations from being desiccated by the desert winds which blow from neighbouring regions During the summer months, they provide moisture and shade. ”