Once a solution, now a scourge
Introduced to Ethiopia’s northeastern Afar region in the 1970s to combat desertification, the shrub-like prosopis (native to Latin America) has spread rapidly and become a major threat to fragile ecosystems and local livelihoods. Heat-tolerant and fast-growing, the tree initially promised to stabilise soils and provide shade—yet today it dominates vast plains and chokes pastureland.
What communities are facing
Local pastoralists describe severe impacts on their animals and incomes. The species has thorny, drooping branches that can reach up to 10 metres (33 feet). Each tree’s deep roots can draw up to seven litres of water a day, drying soils and undermining agriculture and grazing areas. Pods and thorns also damage livestock: villagers report animals becoming sick after eating pods, mouths and stomachs becoming blocked, and thorns wounding animals so they cannot graze.
"Because of this plant, we have become poor," said livestock farmer Khadija Humed. "Everything has changed."
Ecological ripple effects
The dense cover created by prosopis appears to be altering local wildlife patterns: residents say predators such as lions, hyenas and foxes have moved closer to villages, increasing livestock attacks. Camels and other animals aid the plant’s spread by eating pods and dispersing seeds through their droppings.
Scale and economic cost
Researchers estimate about 20,000 square kilometres of Afar are now invaded by prosopis, and the species is spreading into neighbouring Amhara and Oromia regions. A 2023 study in the Journal of Environmental Management reported prosopis covered 8.61% of Ethiopia in 2023 (up from 2.16% in 2003) and warned it could occupy roughly 22% of the country by 2060 if unchecked. Ketema Bekele, an environmental economics professor at Haramaya University, estimates the tree has cost the Afar region roughly $602 million over three decades—nearly four times Afar’s annual budget. Globally, invasive species are estimated to cost local economies about $423 billion annually, according to a 2023 IPBES report.
Efforts to control it—and the gaps
NGOs such as CARE International, supported by Denmark’s Danida, have worked with communities since 2022 to remove prosopis and encourage uses such as harvesting pods and replacing cleared areas with fruit orchards. Local residents say the plant is controllable in principle, but emphasise they lack the manpower, funding and long-term technical support to scale up removal and restoration.
What’s next
Experts and locals call for coordinated action: sustained funding for large-scale removal, restoration of native grasses and trees, livestock management to limit seed dispersal, and support for affected households. Without stronger intervention, prosopis is likely to continue spreading, deepening ecological damage and economic hardship across the region.
Reporting based on AFP interviews and published research; local testimonies cited reflect residents’ experiences and researcher assessments.
