The Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS) has launched the ‘Ghana Tree Planting and Care Project’ to plant about 15,000 trees in selected Districts in the Upper West region to help mitigate the impact of climate change in the area.
The “Ghana Tree Planting and Care Project” is being implemented in 15 communities, including Tanchara, Ombo, Samatigu, Yikpee, and the McCoy College of Education in the Lawra and Nandom Municipalities and Nadowli-Kaleo Districts, among others.
The GRCS project received funding from the Italian Red Cross Support Project through the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) to implement the eight-month pilot project ending in November 2022, in partnership with the Forestry Commission and the Ghana Education Service.
Speaking at the project launch in Wa, Mr. Kofi Addo, the Secretary-General of the GRCS, noted that the northern zone, including the Upper West region, is faced with a high threat of desertification, which has necessitated the piloting of the project in the Region.
He attributed the recurring disasters in the area, such as floods, windstorms, and drought, to the increased negative impact of human activities such as the felling of trees for charcoal production on the already fragile environment.
“The Ghana Red Cross is looking into short-term flood mitigation measures as well as long-term through its extensive community-based tree-planting programme.”
Mr. Kofi Addo
Mr. Addo said the project, which forms part of the Red Cross Pan Africa Initiative, involved planting multi-purpose trees that have economic value to the people, nurturing and caring for the trees to ensure they survived.
GRCS’s tree planting project is in four thematic areas
Mr. Jonathan Hope, the Head of Disaster Management at the GRCS, noted that the project is also aimed at contributing to the climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.
“The tree planting and care initiative are in four thematic areas, reforestation, afforestation, addressing the drivers of desertification, and advocacy and policy engagement, which are all geared towards achieving the intended results”.
Mr. Jonathan Hope
On his part, Mr. James Kuusaana Donkor, the Upper West Regional Chairman of the GRCS, noted that they have extensively affianced with the traditional leaders and community members on the project to secure their total commitment to ensuring its success.
Community support project with 20 acres of land
He said challenges relating to land acquisition and community ownership of the project, and possible destruction of the plants by animals, remain an utmost priority in their community engagement on the project.
Meanwhile, Naa Jaafar Nata-Sung Pelpuo, the Chief of Biihee, welcomed the initiative and pledged commitment to ensuring the project succeeded within the Biihee community.
He explained that the community had allocated about 20 acres of land for development purposes and assured the GRCS team that he would engage the landlords of the area to use that parcel of land for the tree planting project.
Many experts have lauded the project and expressed hopes that it will serve the people in the Northern part of Ghana greatly.
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