By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, July 15, GNA – Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources has urged the public to join this national campaign of tree planting and nurturing to make Ghana green again.
He said despite the immense contribution of the Forestry Sub-Sector to the national economy, the sector continued to face deforestation and forest degradation with dire consequences on our existence.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series Press Conference held at the Presidency in Accra, Mr Buah underscored that to address these issues, a number of strategic actions had been undertaken by his Ministry.
Citing the Tree for Life Restoration Initiative, Mr Buah said the flagship initiative, which was launched by President John Dramani Mahama would restore degraded forest reserves and mined-out areas and transform them into ecologically functional landscapes.
He said the impact of the programme remained a significant intervention in the government’s aggressive environmental restoration agenda.
Mr Buah said in 2025 alone, about 31 million seedlings were planted with success rates ranging between 50-78 per cent recorded in the northern savannah zone and 65-85 per cent recorded in the High Forest Zone, resulting in the restoration of approximately 23,600 hectares of degraded landscapes.
The Minister said building on this success, the Ministry was maintaining the planting target of 30 million seedlings this year, which commenced on 5th June until the end of the rainy season.
He noted that to support implementation, the Forestry Commission had engaged and deployed 2,719 Youth Forest Champions, who were actively involved in nursery operations, seedling production, site preparation, tree planting, plantation maintenance, wildfire prevention, and protection of forest reserves.
He used the opportunity to express the Ministry’s profound gratitude to corporate Ghana and other stakeholders who supported them in achieving their ambitious target last year and were continuing their efforts this year too.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei