73% Green Ghana trees survive — Minister
Averagely, 73.3 per cent of the about 42 million trees planted under the Green Ghana Day (GGD) project have survived, a field assessment report on the survival rate of the trees has revealed.
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The report showed that 67 per cent of the seven million trees planted in 2021 had survived and were doing well, while 72 per cent of the 24 million planted in 2022 were also blossoming.
The report further indicated that out of the 10.7 million trees planted last year, 81 per cent had survived the vagaries of the weather.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, made this known at the Meet the Press Series organised by the Ministry of Information yesterday, prior to this year’s edition of the GGD project scheduled for this Friday.
“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 30 million trees to nurture,” he said.
Nurturing of seedlings
Mr Jinapor said it was in a bid to ensure that the surviving trees were properly nurtured to maturity that the government decided to maintain the 10 million trees target as was planted last year.
The Damongo Member of Parliament (MP) added that the decision to keep the target at 10 million trees would give the ministry and the Forestry Commission space “to devote resources and attention to the trees planted over the last three years, while not losing momentum on our quest to restore our degraded landscape.”
The minister said he was optimistic that this year’s GGD scheduled for Friday, June 7, would receive massive support to build on the successes achieved in the past three years.
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He said the choice of the theme: “Growing for a Greener Tomorrow”, was to emphasise the focus on sustainability, environmental conservation and future well-being.
“This theme will enable us to push boundaries to contribute to the global efforts at tackling climate change to support our survival and the sustainability of our planet.
The minister said planting of trees was one of the most effective and immediate actions that could be taken to combat climate change, air pollution and loss of biodiversity.
2024 GGD
Mr Jinapor said President Akufo-Addo would lead the entire country to plant a commemorative tree at the Nicholson stadium, Burma Camp, to commence the exercise.
He explained that out of the 10 million tree seedlings to be planted across the country, six million seedlings will be planted in degraded forest reserves, while the remaining four million were expected to be planted within and around farms, along degraded watershed areas and within communities - medians of roads, homes, schools, churches, offices recreational parks.
“This will include selected timber trees, shade trees, ornamental trees, fruit trees and multi-purpose trees that will be suitable to the climate conditions in the various regions,” he added.
He said some of the seedlings to be planted included Eucalyptus, Mahogany, Ofram, Ceiba, Emire, Wawa, Rosewood, Teak, Cedrela, Mansonia, Rain trees, Terminalia Mentalis, Royal Palm, Weeping Willow, Orchid Tree, Tree of Life, Mango, Coconut, Orange, Lemon, India Almond, Avocado, Cashew, Cassia, Acacia, Milletia and Albizia.
The minister said the seedlings would be made available at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the district offices of the Forestry Commission and the various designated public places for collection.
Support project
Mr Jinapor said each of the 16 regions had been allotted a number of seedlings to be planted. “I, respectfully, implore all regional ministers to lead their various regions to exceed the appropriated targets by planting beyond their quotas,” he said.
The minister also appealed to all Ghanaians and residents of the country, chiefs and queenmothers, religious and faith-based organisations, ministers, parliamentarians, members of the diplomatic corps, and development partners living in the country to support the Lands Ministry to make this year’s GGD a success.
“As was done in the previous editions, we have compartments for adoption by private institutions, and we will brand them with their names and logos. Each compartment is 128 hectares, which is about the size of 1,200 standard building plot of 70 feet by 100 feet,” he said.
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Green Ghana project
The Green Ghana Project started in 2021 as part of the government’s aggressive afforestation and reforestation programme meant to restore the country’s degraded landscapes.
Since 2021, the government has planted almost 42 million trees in degraded forest reserves and other off-reserve areas as part of the GGD project. In the first edition, seven million trees were planted, while 24 million trees and 10.7 million tree seedlings were planted in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
On April 16, 2024, the Yaa Naa, Abubakari Mahama II, launched the 2024 edition of the GGD on the theme: “Growing for a Greener Tomorrow,” with the target to plant 10 million trees.