President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday called on Ghanaians to take up active roles in preserving the country's forest cover to promote healthy and sustainable environment.
He explained that, recent threats to Ghana's forest including illegal mining, wildfires and deforestation, required the conscious efforts of all the citizenry in protecting what was left and planting and nurturing new trees.
Speaking at this year's Green Ghana Day in Accra on Friday, he said, the government had taken a lead role by implementing specific initiatives such as Green Ghana Day to mobilise all Ghanaians towards restoring Ghana's lost forest cover.
This year's event, which is on the theme "Our Forest, Our Health," is targeting to plant 10 million trees across the country.
"The Green Ghana Day is a clarion call on us all to preserve our forest for our survival by planting and nurturing trees. We have to do this with a sense of urgency and renewed purpose.
We plant and nurture the trees in the spirit of nationalism, solidarity and love for all in a healthy environment," President Akufo-Addo added.
He said, the importance of forest in good health emphasises the need for Ghana to deal with the drivers of climate change and promote sustainable environmental practices.
He noted that climate change was responsible for current environmental and agricultural challenges including droughts, crop failures, loss of water sources and diseases, which if not curtailed, could push many Ghanaians into poverty.
Despite Ghana's limited contribution to the causes of climate change, he said, the country was vulnerable to the impact of climate change adding that the development impacts negatively on livelihoods and impede developmental efforts.
As part of initiatives, President Akufo-Addo said Ghana had updated its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement from 2020 to 2030, considering its unique circumstances to affirm the country's resolve to address the impacts of climate change on the economy and its vulnerable people.
He noted that, the country had designed 47 adaptation and mitigation programmes of action to help cut carbon emissions by 64 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) by 2030.
The President said the Green Ghana Day was critical in government's strategy in realising both national and international objectives in addressing climate change and called on Ghanaians to plant and nurture trees.
"Let's use this opportunity to protect our environment by planting trees. We need to inculcate the practice of afforestation in school children and all others so that, through our collective efforts, we work to mitigate the impact of climate change," President Akufo-Addo stated.
He reiterated government's commitment to explore all avenues towards protecting Ghana's forest and protect natural resources through community-based management.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel A. Jinapor, said in addition to the Green Ghana Day, the Ministry was implementing the Ghana Forest Plantation Strategy, the Forest Investment Programme (FIP), the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP), the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project (GLRSSMP), and the Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI) to address deforestation in the country.
Additionally, under the Forest Plantation Strategy, between 2017 and 2022, more than 690,000 hectares of forest had been cultivated through initiatives such as, forest plantation, enrichment planting and trees-on-farm.
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He said the Ministry also launched the Green Streets Project, to plant trees in the medians of roads, and along major streets, to beautify cities, and provide environmental related benefits for a healthy and sustainable Ghana.
The 10 million target for this year's Green Ghana Day, Mr Jinapor explained, would enable the Ministry to devote more resources to nurture the 23 million maturing trees planted in the last two years, in addition to those to be planted yesterday.
"The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources through the Forestry Commission will continue to provide support for the nurturing of these trees. While we do so, we entreat each and every one of us to take responsibility for nurturing these trees in our homes, offices and communities, for them to reach maturity," he added.
Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, reiterated the need for sensitisation of all Ghanaians on sustainable practices that would help in protecting Ghana's forest.
