Planting 20 Million Trees Attainable, Lets Join Forces To Achieve It – President Akufo-Addo To Ghanaians
President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says the target of planting 20 million trees, set by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, is attainable if every person living in Ghana joins in the effort to achieve the same.
“Globally, some 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods and in Ghana, some 85% of the population rely on forest resources for subsistence to satisfy their socio-cultural needs” President Akufo-Addo noted.
Addressing a ceremony at the Efua Sutherland park in Accra on ‘Mobilising for a Greener Future’, to mark the 2022 edition of the Green Ghana Day, President Akufo-Addo said, “Despite the importance of the forest to human existence, our forests are depleting at an alarming rate”.
“Some 18 years ago, half of the earth’s surface was covered by forests. Today, with an estimated forest area of 4 billion hectares, forests cover less than 30% of the world’s surface.”
“In the last three decades alone, the world has lost 1 billion and 37 million, 846 thousand, 602 acres of forest, more than 10% of the current total forest area,” President Akufo-Addo said.
“More troubling is the current data that shows that globally, we are losing 150 acres of rainforest every single minute, 200,000 acres a day and 79 million a year and this is just rainforest,” he added.
*Forest Cover*
To deal with this challenging situation, President Akufo-Addo noted that his administration is “embarking on an aggressive afforestation and reforestation programme aimed at restoring our lost forest cover and halting the current rate of deforestation”.
“It is in this spirit that I call on every one of you, whether you are a Ghanaian or not, in so far as you are in Ghana, to join us today to plant at least, 20 million trees,” Akufo-Addo beseeched.
“I call on Members of Parliament, members of corporate Ghana, traditional leaders, entrepreneurs, teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, judges, workers, farmers, bankers, students, religious leaders, traders, civil servants, public servants, members of the diplomatic corps and indeed, every person living in Ghana as well as those visiting Ghana on Green Ghana Day, to help us plant these trees,” he added.
“Together, let us build a greener future, for current and future generations of Ghanaians and mankind,” Akufo-Addo further stated.
*Sector Minister*
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, in his remarks noted that the 2022 nationwide tree planting exercise will see 10 million of the 20 million trees being planted in forest reserves across the country.
The remaining 10 million will be planted in un-forest reserves including watersheds, boundaries, office compounds, and sites within communities such as parks, roadsides, homes, churches, mosques, schools and other significant areas.
“Given the very ambitious nature of our target, we have had to mobilize 20 million seedlings, distribute them, get them planted and develop a framework to nurture them to maturity,” Abu Jinapor said.
*Target of 2022 GGD*
Statistics in Ghana show that the country has lost some 100,000 acres of natural forest in the last decade alone.
The target of the Green Ghana day 2022 is to plant at least 20 million trees on the Green Ghana Day, today Friday, June 10th 2022.
The Green Ghana Initiative seeks to; create enhanced national awareness of the necessity for collective action towards the restoration of degraded landscape in the country, inculcate in the youth the value of planting and nurturing trees and their associated benefits, mitigate watersheds, enhance livelihoods for communities through engagement in the production of trees seedlings and beautify our communities and environment.