GYER to plant one million trees nationwide

The Ghana Young Entrepreneurs Roundtable (GYER) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has earmarked to plant one million trees across the 16 regions of the country.

GYER is a dedicated group of young entrepreneurs geared towards promoting the regional integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The historic tree planting, which will be done simultaneously across the country has been set for June 5, 2020, the day set aside by the United Nations to commemorate the World Environment Day.

The group is mobilizing stakeholders to restore the degraded landscapes and maintain the country's natural forest resources.

GYER in their quest to achieve this feat, is soliciting for the services of all Regional Ministers, the Forestry Commission, Regional and Municipal Directors of Education, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Union (EU) and Environmental Activists.

Speaking to the media, Mr Solomon Owusu-Amankwaah, the Executive Director of GYER, said they envision a country with a dense forest cover in the next few decades through this initiative.

He said the campaign was an effort to build on the momentum of the environmental protection movement and help reduce the alarming rate of deforestation.

Mr Owusu-Amankwaah said protection of the environment should be everyone's concern and it was extremely important that as a people "we do more to overcome the loss of forest cover".

He said this campaign was an active multi-stakeholder effort to drive change at the fastest pace ever.

He called on the private sector to play a key role in achieving zero-deforestation commitments and advances in environmental governance.

Mr Owusu-Amankwaah said GYER will be working in partnership with schools and Regional Coordinating Councils.

He indicated that there were plans to establish a series of school-based SDG Clubs in several regions, and undertake seminars to build stronger linkages between students and entrepreneurs, in order to offer them firsthand opportunities to represent and champion sustainable development goals through student-led initiatives.