Ghana plants 5 million trees in a single day to combat deforestation

The expansion of farming, and to a lesser degree mining and logging, has led to high levels of deforestation in Ghana, environmentalists say.

Published - June 12, 2021 05:20 am IST - Accra

A volunteer counts seedlings for distribution at the Forestry Commission in Accra on June 11, 2021, as part of Green Ghana Day.

A volunteer counts seedlings for distribution at the Forestry Commission in Accra on June 11, 2021, as part of Green Ghana Day.

Ghana aimed to plant at least 5 million trees in a single day on Friday to help regrow the country’s lost forests and curb the impacts of climate change, the president said.

The expansion of farming, and to a lesser degree mining and logging, has led to high levels of deforestation in Ghana, environmentalists say.

Forest cover in the West African gold miner has dwindled to less than a fifth of what it was in the 1990s, according to Forestry Commission figures.

At Jubilee House, the seat of Ghana’s presidency, President Akufo-Addo planted a seedling of lignum vitae, one of the world’s strongest hardwoods. The species is locally referred to as the “Tree of Life” for its medicinal qualities.

“The exploitation of forest resources for national development has not been sustainable over the years,” Akufo-Addo said in a speech marking the country’s inaugural Green Ghana Day.

“We don’t have tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to do this. We have to act now,” he added.

More than 7 million seedlings were distributed to Ghanaian parks, schools and businesses ahead of the day’s events, according to the lands ministry.

Planting kits were handed out at shopping malls in major cities. Participants chose from a selection of fruit, crop or ornamental trees.

By noon on Friday, nearly 2.7 million of the targeted 5 million seedlings had been planted, Ghana’s forestry commission wrote on Facebook.

The government plans for Green Ghana Day to become an annual event, with an ambitious goal of expanding the day’s planting target from 5 million to 100 million trees by 2024.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.