By Philip Tengzu,
Wa, June 09, GNA – Plans are advanced for the take-off of the Green Ghana Day (GGD) in the Upper West Region with the traditional institution expected to lead the exercise by planting the first tree.
The ceremonial tree planting would take place in Wa at the Upper West Regional Hospital after a durbar where the Overlord of the Wala Traditional Area, Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, would plant the first tree.
That would be followed by Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, then the Heads of Departments and Agencies, including the security agencies would also follow, Mr Godfred Quashigah, the Upper West Regional Manager of the Forestry Commission (FC), said.
He was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Wa on their preparation towards the GGD slated for Friday, June 9, 2023 on the theme: “Our Forest, Our Health”.
He said the region had a target of 300,000 tree seedlings to plant but expressed hope that they would exceed that target considering the enthusiasm the people in the region had shown towards the initiative.
“In our forest reserves, we have cleared and prepared about 273 hectares which demands about 486,000 seedlings.
Individuals who have also shown up, we have realised that they also need about 200,000 seedlings, so in all, we are heading towards about 600,000, should all people come and take these seedlings that they have requested”, Mr Quashigah explained.
He said they had distributed 321,465 seedlings to On-forest Reserves, individuals, organisations and institutions including churches and mosques.
He indicated that 200,000 of the 300,000 seedlings would be planted in On-forest Reserves for easy protection and nurturing while the remaining 100,000 would be planted in Off-reserves, including individuals, organisations and institutions to be planted in the off-reserve areas.
He noted that some individuals and institutions had already done the planting amounting to about 1,500 seedlings.
Mr Quashigah said the SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), for instance, took delivery of over 4,000 seedlings and had so far planted some.
The FC Regional Manager intimated that they had recorded about 80 per cent survival rate of the trees planted in the region under the green Ghana initiative during the previous two years.
He cited some challenges such as the erratic rainfall pattern, animal grazing, bush burning and one-season rains in the region as having an effect on the survival of the trees planted but said: “We are doing our best to nurture these trees we are planting.”
Mr Quashigah, therefore, appealed to the public to exhibit much interest in the exercise by planting at least one tree per person to mark the GGD because the existence of trees was for the good of humans.
GNA