About 5.9million out of 7million trees planted survived —Lands Ministry

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, says 5,950,000 trees, representing 85 per cent of seven million trees planted in 2021, survived.

The Ministry together with the Forestry Commission distributed seven million assorted tree seedlings across the country during the Green Ghana tree planting exercise on June 11 last year.

Ghana joins the world in commemorating the International Day of Forests set by the UN General Assembly on March 21, 2012.

This year’s commemoration is dubbed: “Forest and sustainable production and consumption.”

Mr Joseph Osiakwan, the Acting Technical Director responsible for Forestry at the Ministry, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, in line with the Day, said their field checks indicated that about 85 per cent of the trees planted survived across the country.

“This is largely successful in the rainforest areas, where the rain pattern was good and some trees were replaced after three months of the planting exercise,” he said.

However, he said in the northern sector they might not have 85 per cent survival because of the weather conditions and in most urban areas people may destroy the trees.

“But averagely if you combine high forest, urban and northern savannah, we are talking about the range of 85 per cent,” Mr Osiakwan said.

Last year, the Mahogany trees were said to be the most planted species.

“This year’s commemoration of the day is fused with the Green Ghana Campaign scheduled to come off June 10,” the Ag Director revealed.

He said Government had targeted the planting of about 20 million trees from about 50 species within the timber, ornamental, wood fuel and other commercial species.

Meanwhile, Mr Obed Owusu Addai, Managing Campaigner, EcoCare Ghana, in an interview with the Agency said Ghana may not attain sustainable forest management, if it continued to cut trees and destroy our forest despite Green Ghana project.

He urged the Government to find ways of preventing people from getting into the forest reserves as they had lost a chunk of forest to “poor forest management practices.”

Mr Daryl Bosu, Deputy National Director, A Rocha Ghana, in a statement said Ghana is saddled with legal and illegal logging in reserved forests and harvesting of wood fuel and charcoal amongst others.

He said it was imperative to ensure that all forest management policies, protocols and guidelines and investment lead to gainful outcomes to preserve the forest.

Some experts have indicated that humans enjoy immense values from preservation of forests such as ecological life support, where biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and water, pollination of plants, pest control, wastewater treatment and many ecosystem services.

The calls for sustainable forest management are also in line with the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 15 and 13.