The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. Samuel Jinapor, has stated that the target for this year’s Green Ghana Day is ten million (10,000,000) trees.
According to him, the target has been revised downwards this year, to ensure that adequate resources and attention are devoted to nurturing the over twenty-three million (23,000,000) trees surviving from the first two editions of the Green Ghana Day.
The Green Ghana Day was instituted in 2021 by Government, under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, as part of an aggressive afforestation and reforestation programme to restore the lost forest cover of the country.
At the maiden edition, over seven million trees were planted, exceeding the target of five million trees. And last year, over twenty-four million trees were planted, exceeding the target of twenty million trees.
Speaking at the Press Briefing, Mr. Jinapor said the 2021 edition had a survival rate of eighty-one percent (81%), while the 2022 edition had a survival rate of seventy-two percent (72%). This, he said, brings the total number of surviving trees for the two years to over twenty-three million (23,000,000).
The maiden edition targeted the planting of five million (5,000,000) trees, but over seven million (7,000,000) trees were planted. Last year, over twenty-six million (26,000,000) trees were planted, exceeding the target of twenty million (20,000,000).
The 2023 edition of the Green Ghana Day was launched by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, in Kumasi with a call on all Ghanaians and residents in the country to come out in their numbers and support the national tree planting exercise.
He said the Green Ghana Day presents an opportunity to show patriotism, exhibit our commitment to the protection of our forest resources, and demonstrate our resolve to leave our children with a richer and greener Ghana.
The Asantehene lauded Government for initiating the Green Ghana Project. He underscored the importance of trees to environmental protection, climate change mitigation, and the survival of the planet.
