Asantehene plants tree to mark Green Ghana Day

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has called on all chiefs and people of Asanteman to actively get involved in the Green Ghana project, to help restore and conserve the degrading lands and forests in the region.He said it was important for the chiefs in the various paramountcies to mobilise their people to plant more trees in their environment to complement the government's afforestation project currently going on throughout the country.Speaking after planting a tree at the Kumasi Royal Golf Park to commemorate this year's green Ghana Day in Kumasi, Otumfuo Osei Tutu, stressed his commitment to support the government's re-afforestation programme.The Green Ghana project is part of the government's aggressive afforestation and reforestation programme, to restore the country's degraded landscapes.The government, through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, would plant about 10 million seedlings of various tree species this year to boost the country's flagship environmental initiative.Otumf uo Osei Tutu has been actively involved in the national tree planting exercise since its inception in 2021 and had been planting trees at the Royal Golf Club Park every year.Mr. Benito Owusu Bio, National Committee Chairman of Green Ghana Project and Special Advisor to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, who accompanied the Asantehene, said from the Stone Age to date, human activities on the environment, both illegal and legal had caused destruction to the environment.He said a total of 10 million tree seedlings of different species were expected to be planted across the country this year, to restore the environment.This, he said would go a long way to reduce the impact of climate change and conserve the environment.Mr Owusu Bio said tree planting was the best solution to the harmful effects of the recent extreme weather conditions and climate change.He said more than 81 per cent of the trees planted in 2021 had survived and 72 per cent of those planted last year, had survived.He appealed to churches and schools to take up the exercise and contribute to the conservation of the environment.Mr Owusu Bio, said the one-student, one-tree planting exercise had begun in schools, to inculcate environmental conservation practices in students and pupils.He called on all Ghanaians to get on board to make the environment clean and green to save the next generation.Source: Ghana News Agency