Make tree planting civic responsibility — Institute
The Frimpong-Manso Institute (FMI) has commended the government and its agencies for spearheading efforts to protect the environment through the Green Ghana Day initiative.
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It said trees and, for that matter, forests were critical components of the ecosystems and provided mechanisms for removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere - “the culprits of climate change and global warming - through the utilisation of carbon dioxide”.
“We should, therefore, do whatever is within our means to promote trees planting,” a statement issued by the FMI said.
It was against this year’s Green Ghana Day which was held last Friday, June 9, 2023 with the planting of 10 million trees.
The FMI said tree planting should become part of “our civic responsibility and should be seen as part of our everyday life”.
“While commending the government for the Green Ghana Day initiative, FMI wishes to encourage various ministries, agencies and departments as well as other stakeholders to put in place mechanisms and strategies to ensure the growth and development of trees planted,” it said.
Financial resources
It said since a significant amount of time and some of the country’s scarce financial resources had been put into the noble initiative, it called for a robust mechanism to monitor and evaluate the survival and growth of planted trees to ensure long-term success.
It said follow-up, including care and replacement of the tree, was often neglected and that “the use of drones was one way of monitoring tree health, survival, and growth to assess the effects of tree planting efforts.
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Additionally, it said “photographs could be taken before planting and there after about twice a year by locating points with a clear view of both the planted sites and notable landmarks, resource permitting.
This should be accompanied by ground surveys”.
Destruction
It further urged Ghanaians to take environmental management seriously by making sure their actions did not negatively contribute to the destruction of the environment.
“We stress the need for increased awareness creation among the populace on the importance of safeguarding the integrity of our environment.
This is, particularly, important in the light of the wanton destruction being witnessed across the country.
There is the need to always remind ourselves that our very existence as mankind is dependent on the ecosystems and its support systems,” it said.
The statement said the country should proactively enforce regulations and by-laws relating to the protection of our environmental resources, adding that it was only through those efforts that “we can serve notice to the general public and other users of our environmental resources of the need to protect our natural environment or face the consequences”.
This year’s World Environment Day, marked on June 5, was on the theme: "Beat Plastic Pollution".
It was followed up by the third edition of Green Ghana Day on June 9, 2023.
The Green Ghana Day is an initiative of the Government of Ghana, aimed at planting 10 million tree seedlings across the country and creating awareness of the effects of climate change on the environment.
The immediate-past President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso, is the President of the FMI.
The Frimpong-Manso Institute is a resource centre established to contribute to the knowledge and experiences in the Christian body and the corporate world at large.
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This institute seeks to bring together a body of knowledgeable and experienced resource persons drawn from an eclectic mix of disciplines under the leadership of Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso.