4th Green Ghana project: Ministry to plant 10 million trees this year
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has targeted to plant 10 million tree seedlings this year under the Green Ghana Day project, a government initiative aimed at restoring the country’s degraded landscape.
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The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, who made this known, said this year’s tree-planting exercise would be marked on June 7.
Mr Jinapor stated this when he paid a courtesy call on the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt Gen. Thomas Oppong-Peprah, in Accra last Tuesday to court the support of the Ghana Armed Forces for the project.
Context
The fourth in four years, this year’s exercise will bring to 54.5 million the number of trees that have been planted since the initiative was first held on June 11, 2021.
In the first edition, seven million trees were planted, while 26 million trees and 11.5 million tree seedlings were planted in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
The tree-planting exercise is part of the national effort towards addressing the global climate crisis, given that trees serve as carbon sink.
Support
Mr Jinapor commended the Ghana Armed Forces for the key role it had played in the implementation of various policies and initiatives by the Lands Ministry, ranging from the deployment of the military personnel to help with the fight against the illegal mining menace to the support in the tree-planting exercise.
The Damongo Member of Parliament said the collaboration between the ministry and the Ghana Armed Forces in various areas had significantly contributed to stemming the tide in the fight against illegal mining to protect the environment.
“Undoubtedly, your support to government’s effort to protect the environment is significant, and I want to express the heartfelt appreciation of the Lands Ministry to the Ghana Armed Forces, but also to call for more support from you,” he said.
The minister also informed the CDS that after stakeholder consultations, it had been agreed to hold the 2024 commemorative tree planting at Burma Camp, the base of the Ghana Armed Forces.
He said the commemorative tree-planting ceremony would be performed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to officially kick off the nationwide exercise.
Mr Jinapor appealed to the CDS to once again collaborate with the ministry to ensure the effectiveness of the project by providing logistical support.
Assurance
Lt Gen. Oppong-Peprah commended the minister and officials of the Lands Ministry for making conscious efforts to protect the country’s land and water resources from excessive pollution by illegal miners.
He assured the minister that the relationship and collaboration between his outfit and the ministry would be strengthened under his leadership.
Touching on the Green Ghana Project, Lt Gen. Oppong-Peprah accepted the responsibility as the host of the commemorative tree-planting ceremony, and promised to ensure a successful event.
On the issue of logistics, he stated that Ghana Armed Forces would make available every resource needed for the successful implementation of the project.
