National tree planting week launched

Prof Kasim Kasanga, Minister of Science and Environment, on Thursday said the protection and management of the environment should not be left to chance but should be managed properly by all for the benefit of posterity.

"We can successfully achieve this if only we changed our attitude towards sound environmental practices," he said at the launch of this year's national tree-planting week at Gbawe, near Accra.


"We want our communities to plant tress by the streets and road-sides for windbreaks and shade. We also want all schools in the country to embark on massive greening of their campuses," the Minister said.


The celebration under the theme: "Trees For Life, Plant More" was initiated last year by President John Agyekum Kufuor as part of the World Environment Day, which would be celebrated on 5 June.


Ghana's celebration would be held at the Akosombo Lorry Park in the Eastern Region. Under this year's tree planting programme, schools and communities in Accra alone would plant about 3,000 trees.


Prof. Kasanga said President Kufuor initiated the tree planting exercise last year to put over 20,000 hectares of Ghana's devastated land under forest cover.

He said in line with the initiative, a pilot tree-planting programme in selected junior and senior secondary schools throughout the country was embarked upon and that field verification visits and monitoring results coming from the regions showed that the programme had been successful.


He said for instance the 210 schools that participated in the programme planted about 73,500 seedlings to cover an estimated area of 150 hectares.


Of this 55,000 constituting about 75 per cent survived and were doing well. "This year we should target an increase of survival rate from 75 per cent to 90 per cent," the Minister said.


He commended all those, who participated in the exercise and said awards would be given to the two best schools and communities, which excelled in the programme.


Prof. Kasanga said other incentives and strong monitoring system to promote and ensure greater participation by schools and communities for higher survival rate of planted seedling would be pursued.

Ms Theresa Amarley Tagoe, Deputy Minster of Lands and Forestry, expressed regret that only 20 per cent of the original forest-cover in Ghana now remained because of mankind's negative practices.


She said undertaking massive tree planting could amend that trend. Ms Tagoe, therefore, called on all to join the exercise, and gave the assurance that the Forest Services Division of the Forestry Commission would give technical assistance to everybody interested in planting trees.


She said a forest plantation development fund that was managed by a Fund Board had been set up to enable government to implement the national forest plantation programme that would help expand the forests.


Ms Tagoe said the fund was not limited to only the private sector and commercial plantation developers but to all including schools, communities, individuals, churches, organisations and public institutions.