The determination by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to restore the popular Achimota Forest to its original state is on course.
Last Friday, reporters toured some areas where trees were planted in 2021 maiden edition of the Green Ghana Project and all the tree seem to be doing well.
This has motivated the ministry to plant more of the trees in the forest and all parts of the country during the second edition of the Green Ghana Day, which took place throughout the country on Friday, last week.
CEREMONY
In the early hours of Friday, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo opened the nationwide exercise to plant 20 million trees this year, by planting a tree at the Efua Sutherland Park in Accra. He did that after encouraging everyone in the country to at least plant a tree.
Whilst addressing a gathering who appeared very enthusiastic about planting their trees, President Akufo-Addo was confident that the ambitious target of planting 20 million trees would be attained if Ghanaians patronised the exercise.
Despite the importance of forests to human existence, he said forest reserves in the country were being depleted at an alarming rate, giving statistics to back up his claim.
“Worldwide, some 1.6 billion people depend on the forest for their livelihoods. In Ghana, some 85 percent of the population relies on forest resources to satisfy socio-cultural needs,” he said.
The President expressed concerns over the current situation, where globally, some 79 million acres of rain forest are lost daily.
President Akufo-Addo said the aggressive afforestation and reforestation drive by the government was to help restore lost forest cover and halt the current rate of deforestation.
“It is in this spirit that I call on each and every one of you, whether you are a Ghanaian or not, so far as you are in Ghana, to join us today to plant at least 20 million trees. Together, let us build a greener future for current and future generations of Ghanaians and mankind,” he said.
LANDS MINISTER
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, who also planted a tree at the park, underscored the importance of trees to the survival of humanity and urged all Ghanaians to participate in the Green Ghana project. He expressed the ministry’s commitment to work with its various agencies and stakeholders to protect the country’s forests from further degradation.
He announced a number of initiatives the ministries were pursuing in that regard, including a review of wildlife regulations to save the country’s forest resources from destruction.
GREEN GHANA
Green Ghana is an initiative by the Akufo-Addo government to annually plant trees to achieve a target of 100 million trees by the end of 2024. The project began last year with the planting of 7 million trees. Seedlings planted this year included native timber species, shade trees, multi-purpose leguminous trees, ornamental and fruit trees.
