Time for Action: People in Ghana Plant 5 Million Trees to Fight Deforestation

People in Ghana undertook a massive project to plant at least 5 million trees on Friday to help the country cope up with the ill effects of deforestation and rejuvenate its lost forests.

Under the ‘Green Ghana’ programme, the government distributed free saplings to people from all walks of life – from celebrities to schoolchildren. Planting kits were handed out in the shopping malls in big cities. Participants chose from a variety of fruit, crop, or ornamental plants.

Ghana’s forestry commission reported that nearly 2.7 million saplings were planted from the targeted 2 million by Friday noon.

Image: Martin Brandt

This initiative was taken in the wake of the expansion of farming activities and mining depletion that led to accelerated forest degradation in Ghana, as reported by the environmentalists. The forest cover was reduced to one-fifth by West African gold miners since 1990, according to official figures.

Also Read: Continued Decline in Fruit Availability Threatens Megafauna of Central African Forests

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Ghana is one of the tropical countries with the highest rate of forest cover loss in the world. The current forest cover accounts for 4 million acres, compared to 8.2 million recorded in 1900.

Image: Twitter

Informal small-scale gold mining and indiscriminate cutting down of forest trees without any efforts of reforestation have led to such drastic loss.

Many religious and charitable organizations also took part in this reforestation effort. President Nana Akufo-Addo also planted a memorial tree in the garden of the Jubilee House at Accra.

Governments of other nations suffering from deforestation should take up such initiative to fight against climate change and take swift action like Ghana.

Via: Reuters