The leadership of Green Ghana project, an initiative to plant five million trees in the country this year, has met with members of the Council of State to solicit their support for the exercise.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission, Mr John Allotey, who led the team said the aim of the project was to restore the vegetation that had been tampered with by human activities.

He said as part of the project, they intended to plant five million trees in a day across the country as part of a strategic and aggressive afforestation programme.

Describing the initiative as a joint responsibility of all, the CEO called for broad-based support from the general public to help address the adverse effects of degraded forests.

"The trees are scheduled to be planted on June 11, this year, by the people who would be mobilised for the exercise on that day after which they would nurture them to maturity as a way of contributing to the preservation of the environment and also creating national consciousness of tree planting," he added.

The leadership of the project who called on the Council of State included the Chairman of the Green Ghana Project and Deputy Minister-designate of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Benito Owusu-Bio; the Chairman of the Fundraising Committee, Nana Prah Agyensaim IV; the Chairman of Publicity and Protocol, Mr Kwaku Sakyi-Addo, and the Chairman of the Monitoring Committee and Member of Parliament for Ahafo Ano South-East, Mr Francis Manu-Adabor.

Commitment

Mr Owusu-Bio assured the members of the Council of State that the government was committed to plant more trees to replenish the environment.

"I want to assure you that we will go through all the processes to ensure that the implementation of the project becomes successful. We will not fail you", he said.

Commendation

The Chairman of the Council of State, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, commended the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, for the bold step taken to curb the illegal mining (galamsey) menace, including the protection of the environment.

While assuring the project team of the support of the Council of State, the chairman urged all citizens to support the government in its effort to save the country's water and forest resources.

Mr Jinapor in March this year launched the Green Ghana programme as part of activities to mark this year’s International Day of the Forest which falls on June 11 every year.