The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has said that the Green Ghana Project, which sought to plant five million trees, has been hugely successful.
He said the demand for tree seedlings was over-subscribed with enormous enthusiasm by individuals and corporate institutions, who took part in the exercise on June 11, 2021.
Mr Jinapor, who is also MP, Damango, made these known in a statement to update Parliament on the success or otherwise of nationwide tree planting exercise.
He said “Mr Speaker, reports received from the Forestry Commission indicates that over seven million seedlings of various tree species were distributed across the country against the Green Ghana planting target of five million trees.
“Even though, planting figures are still being collated across the sixteen regions, provisional figures from the Forestry Commission clearly shows that we exceeded the five million target. This is remarkable and historic!” he said on the floor of the House, in Accra.
According to Mr Jinapor, the exercise has awakened a new national consciousness on the need to plant trees, saying “As I speak now, Mr Speaker, several requests are still trickling in for additional seedlings.
This is a significant step to preserving our environment and ecosystem, which will enable us make our modest contribution to the ongoing global fight against climate change.”
He expressed appreciation to all who participated in the exercise and urged them to take care of the trees so that they can grow.
The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, commended the minister for the initiative, and urged that measures are put in place to ensure that the trees survived in the dry season.
To him, the planting of economic trees must be a priority to ensure that Ghana did not only benefit environmentally, but economically.
The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, encouraged that the initiative is sustained to regain Ghana’s lost vegetation.
He said before the turn of the 20th century, Ghana’s 8.5 million hectares vegetation has reduced to 500,000 hectares, a situation he said must be reversed.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
