Otumfuo plants trees to mark Green Ghana Day
Asantehene , Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei Mensah on Friday June 9 , 2023 led a tree planting exercise at the Royal Golf Park in Kumasi to commemorate the 3rd edition of Green Ghana Day which seeks to plant over 2 million trees out of the 10 million national target .The Green Ghana Day was introduced in 2021 as part of a national Afforestation and reforestation programme to restore the lost forest cover of Ghana and contribute to the global effort to mitigate climate change.
Ghana has been losing rainforest at an alarming rate in recent years, but the government of Ghana is taking steps to change all that. Green Ghana Day on Friday 9th June, saw communities come together for a massive drive to plant over 10 million trees nationwide. As part of the Green Ghana Day campaign, the Government of Ghana provided free seedlings to all individuals, government and non-governmental organisations, traditional leaders, educational and religious institutions willing to roll up their sleeves to plant a tree. Considering the importance of the tree planting exercise , the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II joined the deputy minister for lands and natural resources, Benito Owusu Bio, the Ashanti regional minister , Simon Osei Mensah, the Mayor of Kumasi , Sam Pyne among other dignitaries to plant the symbolic trees to commemorate the 2023 green Ghana Day at the Royal Golf Park in Kumasi to demonstrate their patriotism by actively participating in the excercise. The deputy minister for lands and natural resources speaking with the media after the planting , underscored the need for all to participate in the tree planting exercise so as to be able to restored the vegetative cover that the country has lost .he touted the success of the previous excercise which according to him had about 80 percent recovery of the trees, while reiterating the importance of tree planting urged the public to protect trees around them .
The Ashanti Regional Minister , Simon Osei Mensah, applauded the initiative by government to green the country particularly the Ashanti region to its former as the garden city of West Africa , he however cautioned owners of stray animals that usually destroyed planted trees to take charge of their animals and any animal that is caught destroying a tree will be confiscated and donate to the children’s home or prison service for consumption. He therefore admonished the residents of the region to grow trees around them to have a fresh and healthy life .
On his part the Ashanti Regional manager of the forestry commission, Clement Omari , while outlining challenges facing the forest reserves in the country particularly in the Ashanti region, called for enforcement of environmental laws to deterred recalcitrant people from destruction of the environment.
Ashanti Regional is planting over 2 million seedlings today out of the 10 million trees seedlings targeted nationwide, and the 2023 Green Ghana Day was under the Theme: “Our forests our Health ” .
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