Ghana is said to be racing against time to win the war against climate change and food security, following a revelation that in the last 10 years, the country has lost 100,000 acres of forest cover.
The development is said to be responsible for the collapse of the timber industry, which has resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs.
This came to light when the President, Nana Akufo-Addo delivered his speech at a ceremony to mark this year’s Green Ghana day in Accra. President Akufo-Addo noted that the trend, if not halted, could increase food challenges in the country and affect the natural forest cover.
The President of Ghana, H. E Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo launched the 2022 Edition of Green Ghana Day, at the Accra International Conference Centre. The theme for this year’s exercise is “Mobilizing for a Greener Future” and it is scheduled for June 10, 2022.
The President in his keynote address said that forests continue to be one of Ghana’s most important resources but regrettably there is a substantial decline in the country’s forest cover.
The President, therefore, called for concerted efforts to combat this menace. The Green Ghana Initiative seeks to create a collective action towards the restoration of degraded landscapes in the country, mitigate climate change and inculcate in the youth the values of planting and nurturing trees and their associated benefits, he continued.
Reiterating the President’s comments about shared efforts toward greening Ghana, the Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, speaking at the launch of the campaign in the Upper East Region explained that each individual must play his/her part to ensure that the collective goal is achieved.
“Let me use this opportunity to entreat all stakeholders to support this laudable programme of the Government to succeed by way of education and information dissemination on the planting of trees and general environmental management.”
“For this programme to succeed, efforts should be made to involve all local stakeholders such as Educational Institutions, Parks and Gardens, Traditional Authorities, Security Agencies, Religious Bodies and other Heads of Departments to take a keen interest in the project.”
“Let me assure you that we have sufficient quantities of seedlings to supply to any group or individual interested in the project. To make the seedlings accessible to every tom dick and hurry, twenty-six (26) distribution centres have been established across the region and I urge you to contact the forestry authorities for the list of the centres,” he said.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
