20 million trees to be planted on Friday – Jinapor
In a bid to restore Ghana’s forests, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources is spearheading a nationwide tree planting exercise on Friday, 10 June 2022.
The exercise is dubbed ‘Green Ghana Day’ and themed ‘Mobilizing for a Greener Future’ and is expected to see 20 million trees planted on the day.
According to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resource and MP for Damongo, Samuel Abu Jinapor, the move is an aggressive afforestation programme to restore the lost forest cover of Ghana which contributes to the global efforts to fight climate change.
“Since 1900, Ghana has lost a whopping 80 percent of its forest cover and therefore, we have a crisis situation, climate change is reaching a tipping point and Ghana, as a respected member of the international community is contributing its quota to the global efforts at halting climate change,” Jinapor told pressmen.
Breaking down the strategy for this year’s exercise, Mr. Jinapor said: “This year, we have decided to plant 10illion seedlings in on-reserve compartments and plant 10 other million seedlings across the country – in schools, church compounds, mosques and on the streets, in our homes, and in public areas of our country. We are planting 10million in the forest reserves and planting 10million across the country”.
He urged the general public to get involved and save the Greenlands.
“We are calling on all Ghanaians, all residents of Ghana, and all persons who will be visiting Ghana to join forces with the government and join forces with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Forestry Commission to be able to make this noble undertaking and momentous undertaking and resounding success,” he noted.
The Green Ghana Day was introduced in 2021, by H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo as part of an aggressive national afforestation program to restore the lost forest cover of Ghana and contribute to the global effort to mitigate climate change. The maiden edition was held on 11 June 2021, where an estimated 7million tree seedlings were planted across the nation.
Acknowledging the tremendous support parliament has given to the initiative, the Damongo lawmaker said, “I want to thank the Speaker of Parliament and the Honourable Members of the august House of Parliament for being very supportive and enthusiastic about this year’s Green Ghana Day.
“Indeed, as you may be aware, the Speaker has just announced that Parliament will not sit on Friday. This is to enable Members of Parliament to travel to their constituencies to lead their constituents in participating in this year’s Green Ghana Day. We want to thank the Speaker for this momentous decision. That gives us the great impetus and gives us a lot of momentum moving forward to Friday,” he said.
