Mprisi (BE/R), June 11, GNA – Mr Kwasi Adu-Gyan, the Bono East Regional Minister, has directed Municipal/District Assemblies in the region to enforce environmental bye-laws to protect the existing trees and newly-planted ones under the Green Ghana Project (GGP).
He noted that enforcing the bye-laws would create much awareness on the importance to protect trees, saying offenders would be punished to inform people about why trees must be nurtured and protected.
Mr Adu-Gyan gave the directive when he was speaking during a tree planting exercise to mark the region’s commemoration of this year’s GGP Day on Friday at Mprisi near Buoyem in the Techiman North District of the region.
He stated, “for the region to benefit more from its tourism potentials, it is important to green the tourists sites through planting of tree seedlings and be nurtured to become trees to attract nature, including wildlife”.
Mr Adu-Gyan said the Bono East was focused on promoting tourism through afforestation of tourist sites, which would encourage ecotourism for the region to derive maximum benefits from its tourism potentials.
Mrs. Lucy Amoh Ntim, the Bono East Manager, Forestry Commission, disclosed that about 6,000 seedlings of various tree species were expected to be planted to cover vast stretch of land around the Mprisi community.
Mrs Ntim said last year the region planted about 367,000 tree seedlings, saying 80 per cent survived, but she added this year about 1.2 million tree seedlings were expected to be planted across the region.
She said proper care of trees planted would eventually guarantee green environment to mitigate the effects of climate change to ensure food security and stimulate socio-economic development of the region and the country.
Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, the Member of Parliament for Techiman North, said aside from government’s effort, her office was also planting about 3,000 tree seedlings to augment the existing ones.
GNA