The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has slated the 2023 edition of the Green Ghana day for Friday, June 9, 2023.
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor who disclosed this at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, noted that the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, will officially launch Green Ghana Day next month at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Great Hall.
He stated that the theme of this year’s edition, Our Forests, Our Health was chosen in recognition of the importance of forests in everyday life and to remind Ghanaians of the various health and associated advantages obtained from forests.
He revealed that the Ministry’s field Assessment Report indicates an average survival rate of 72% survival rate of 20 million trees in 2022 as compared to 81% of 5 million in 2021.
“While adequate measures were put in place to ensure the survival of all trees planted, a number of external factors account for the survival rate, including rainfall patterns, wildfires and soil fertility. Nonetheless, the survival rate shows that we still have some twenty-three million (23,000,000) trees to nurture,” he added.
Mr Jinapor said based on the low survival rate, the Ministry revised the target for this year downwards to ten million (10,000,000) trees for proper attention.
“This will give us space to devote some resources and attention to the trees planted over the last two years, while not losing momentum on our quest to restore our degraded landscape. It is the expectation of the Government that, this year, we will receive the usual massive support to build upon the successes achieved in 2021 and 2022,” he said.
He stated that seedlings will be available for collection on Green Ghana Day at the Ministry, District Offices of the Forestry Commission, and designated areas.
The Minister admonished corporate Ghana to adopt compartments of forest reserves saying, the forest will be branded with the company’s name and emblem.
He urged all Ghanaians to support the Ministry to make this year’s edition of the Green Ghana Day a success.
Irene Wirekoaa Osei, ISD
