The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor has launched the Green Ghana Programme as part of activities to mark this year’s International Day of Forest.

Under the Green Ghana initiative, which will take place on June 11, 2021, a total of five million trees are expected to be planted in a single day across Ghana.

It will form part of effort to encourage Ghanaians to plant more trees to preserve and protect the Ghana's forest cover and the environment.

Collective responsibility

Mr Jinapor, who made this known in Accra Tuesday, said the tree planting exercise will see President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin and the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, planting a tree each on June 11.

He also mentioned other high-profile personalities who will take part in the exercise as the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and the Overlord of Dagbon, Yaa-Naa Abukari II, as well as other Ghanaians all over the country.

Aggressive afforestation

Mr Jinapor said the rationale to plant five million trees in Ghana formed part of a strategy and a programme to embark on an aggressive afforestation to protect forests and the environment in Ghana.

He said the initiative was a joint responsibility for which more broad-based support was needed to address the adverse degradation of Ghana’s forests and ecosystem.

“To achieve our goal of protecting our forests and ecosystem, we will see to the planting of five million trees, which is significant by all standard, to help raise national consciousness of the need to protect the environment and the forests,” he said.

According to him, the President had a vision for the Forestry Commission and the forestry sector which required that FC worked with all stakeholders to increase the country’s forest cover and ensure the protection of the environment.