Accra, March 18, GNA – The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, in collaboration with the Forestry Commission, will launch the Tree for Life Restoration Initiative in the Ashanti region on Friday, March 21.
Under the initiative, areas which have been heavily degraded by illegal mining and other drivers of deforestation will be restored.
The initiative aims to embark on transformational landscape restoration efforts to heal and harness the environment to mark this year’s International Day of the Forest, which falls on March 21.
Dr Hugh C.A.Brown, the Acting Chief Executive, Forestry Commission, said this in a speech read on his behalf at a sensitisation and awareness creation programme for seven basic schools along the Ayi-Mensah-Amrahia stretch to mark the day.
The schools were educated on the need to protect and preserve the environment, including talks on wildlife and zoos and climate change on the theme: “Forests and Foods.”
The schools are Ayi-Mensah, Kweiman Primary and JHS, Danfa Methodist Basic, Otinibi and Aisha Bintu basic schools.
He said forests were income-generating areas for millions of foreign communities, and there was an urgent need to protect the forests in the nation to continually play the important roles in human lives.
He said the enclaves used to be trees in the valley and up the mountain, but all these had given way to development for human settlement.
He said amid these developments, trees could be planted along walkways, driveways, in homes, school compounds, offices, churches, among others, to beautify the community and to regulate the temperature in the area.
Mr Brown urged the students to try and plant trees on their birthdays and graduations and nurture them to maturity to commemorate the day’s events.
He announced that on Thursday, March 20, there would be a quiz competition among the PRESEC staff of basic two, three and four and five schools at the Accra Zoo, located in the Achimota Forest Reserve.
The knowledge acquired, he stated, would help the students to make the rightful decisions in preserving the forest landscape of the country.
Forests in Ghana have come under severe attacks over these past years due to illegal mining, illegal farming, illegal felling of trees, bushfires and poaching of wild animals, among others.
These actions have led to forest degradation and deforestation, which call for a proactive approach to addressing the problems.
Mr Keneth Apawo, Assistant Headteacher, Danfa Methodist Basic School, acknowledged the importance of the theme in supporting food security.
He urged all to help avoid the threats of deforestation and promote sustainable food.
GNA
CA/