Green Ghana Day: 41,000,000 trees have been planted since 2021 – Samuel Abu Jinapor

The Minister in charge of Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor has disclosed that government has planted 41,000,000 trees since 2021 under the Green Ghana Initiative.

The Green Ghana Day initiative was introduced by President Akufo-Addo’s government in 2021 focusing on aggressive afforestation and reforestation programmes to restore the country’s degraded landscapes.

In the last three years, government led by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources as well as the Forestry Commission has led the country to plant trees.

Addressing a press briefing in Accra on Tuesday, June 4, Lands and Natural Resources Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor said 30,000 of the 40,000 trees planted since 2021 survived and are being nurtured.

“On the maiden edition, we targeted five million (5,000,000) trees. With your support, over seven million (7,000,000) trees were planted. In 2022, we raised our ambition and targeted at least, twenty million (20,000,000) trees. Again, you supported us, and over twenty-four million (24,000,000) trees were planted. Last year, you, once more, supported us to plant over ten million seven hundred thousand (10,700,000) trees; bringing the total number of trees planted over the years in excess of Forty-one million (41,000,000).

“So far, field Assessment Report shows that, on the average, we had sixty-seven percent (67%) survival rate in 2021, seventy-two percent (72%) in 2022, and eighty-one percent (81%) in 2023. This means that we have some thirty million (30,000,000) trees surviving to date and our task continuous to be to nurture them to full maturity,” Samuel Abu Jinapor said.

At the briefing, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources said just like in 2023, the target is to plant ten million (10,000,000) trees this year.

He said this will give the country space to devote some resources and attention to the trees planted over the last three years, while not losing momentum on our quest to restore our degraded landscape.

He said Government expects that, this year, it will receive the usual massive support from Ghanaians to build on the successes achieved in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

This year, Green Ghana Day will be commemorated on the theme, “Growing for a Greener Tomorrow”.

The focus is on sustainability, environmental conservation and future well-being.