Wa, June 12, GNA – Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, the overlord of the Wala Traditional Council has planted species of trees at his palace to climax the Green Ghana Day exercise in the Upper West Region
Some chiefs and the queen mother (Pognaa) of the traditional council also took turns to plant trees.
Heads of government departments and agencies including the security agencies and students of the Wa Module Basic School participated in the exercise.
Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, joined students of the Wa Module Basic School to plant trees at the school.
Addressing the media after the exercise, Dr. Salih indicated that reclaiming the virtually lost vegetative cover through reforestation was not a preserve of an individual or institution and called on the public to see tree planting as a personal responsibility.
He said the adverse climatic condition being experienced currently was as a result of the depletion of the vegetative cover owing to the felling of trees for diverse reasons.
According to him, the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and the Regional Forestry Commission would build on the success chalked in the trees planted in 2021 as the survival rate was about 85 per cent.
The Minister charged the students and management of the school to care for the trees planted at the school to ensure they survived saying, “We will be coming around from time to time to visit the school and will check how the trees we have planted are doing”.
Mr Luri Kanton, the Director of Wildlife Division at the National Office of the Forestry Commission, who was in the region to monitor the tree planting exercise, said the exercise was a success as the participation was very impressive.
“Trees and forests are very important for our livelihood and survival. Without trees we cannot survive, so let’s take tree planting seriously. The green Ghana project has driven into young people the love of planting trees”, he explained.
Mr Stephen Asamoah Duah, the Upper West Regional Manager of the Forestry Commission, noted that the commission would work to ensure the trees planted survived to serve the intended purpose.
He said the commission selected tree species such as neem and acacia to be planted at strategic places to help save them from being destroyed by animals.
He expressed hope that the region would exceed its target of 600,000 trees at the end of the exercise following the enthusiasm exhibited by the people and institutions in the region.
GNA