The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources responsible for Lands and Forestry, Hon. Benito Owusu-Bio, has disclosed that President Akufo-Addo will in the month of April, launch the 2023 edition of government’s aggressive afforestation/reforestation programme.

According to him, the Green Ghana Day is to help restore the country’s degraded landscapes. He explained that this year, the Green Ghana Day has been scheduled for June 9, 2023, with a target of 10 million seedlings to be planted across the country, 6 million on-reserve and 4 million off reserves.

Mr Owusu-Bio expressed gratitude to the Speaker of Parliament, and the Parliamentarians for taking active part in the Green Ghana Day since its inception, while congratulating them for nurturing all trees planted during the event and ensuring a 100% survival rate.

Mr Owusu-Bio employed the opportunity to appeal to all Ghanaians and the international community to embrace and support the 2023 Edition just as they have demonstrated high enthusiasm in the previous years.

The Deputy Minister in his speech mentioned some flagships interventions undertaken by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to address the challenges in the sector.

According to him, interventions such as the Green Ghana Day, National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP), Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project, Ghana Forest Investment Programme, Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Project and the Shea Landscape Emission Reduction Programme have been instituted by government to curtail the problem.

The deputy lands minister noted that to observe the International Day of Forests, the Forestry Commission had a week-long programme for school children. This, he indicated, was aimed at creating awareness and active involvement of children in the celebration.

Addressing degraded landscape in the country

To this end, Mr Owusu-Bio called on all and sundry to support the vision of the President to restore the country’s degraded landscapes for better nutrition, better environment and a better health for all. He also noted that the measures being embarked on by Government through the Ministry are yielding some positive results.

Nonetheless, he highlighted that “we still need to do a lot of work in this area as a collective responsibility from all of us to ensure that we leave our children unborn a better and richer forest estate than we inherited”.

Some members of Parliament also took turns to contribute to the matter on the floor, stating the importance of forests while urging parliamentarians and Ghanaians alike to take it upon themselves to protect Ghana’s forests which will go a long way to contribute to the reduction in Global warming. They also called on all and sundry to take active part in the Green Ghana Day day to foster a better environment and health for all.

Among the members who gave comments include Hon. Alhassan Ghansah, MP for Brakwa/Asikuma/ Odoben; Hon. Gizella Tetteh-Abotui- Awutu Senya West; Hon. Alexander Afenya-Markin – Effutu; Hon. Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor- North Dayi and the Hon. Emmanuel Okyere Darko-Mensah, MP for Tarkoradi.

It will be recalled that on November 28, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed March 21st as the International Day of Forests and to be celebrated on the 21st of March each year. The purpose of the International Day of Forests is to celebrate forests across the world and also create awareness on the role that forests and trees play in the socio-economic and environmental, development of our nations.

The United Nations allows countries to select suitable periods in the year to celebrate this day so as to make the situations. Ghana, therefore, over the years has celebrated the occasion in June during which period we have good rains to plant trees across all ecological zones. The day is therefore, a day of global and national celebration and also a day to create awareness on the importance of forests and the need to protect and preserve them.