The government of Ghana is taking action to reverse the alarming loss of rainforest that has occurred in recent years, which brought about the Green Ghana Day initiatives, where, communities nationwide come together to plant about 5 million trees.
The Ghanaian government gives away free seedlings as part of the Green Ghana Day initiative to everyone who is willing and ready to pitch in and help, including people, governmental and non-governmental organisations, traditional leaders, educational institutions, and religious organisations.
The Green Project, a four-year initiative sponsored by the European Union (EU), is being carried out by UNCDF in the Ashanti and Western Regions. It aims to provide chances for vulnerable populations by giving green and resilience-building initiatives a priority.
With the goal to plant 2,000 tree seedlings in the Ejura Sekyedumase District of the Ashanti Region, the team from UNCDF organised a tree planting exercise with the assistance of its partners SNV and SOS.
Through the promotion and support of sustainable, environmentally friendly enterprises in Ghana’s Ashanti and Western Regions, the project seeks to increase the economic and employment prospects for youth, women, and returning migrants. Green is being implemented through the 20 million euro European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa.
The Green Ghana Day was launched by President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2021 under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, as part of an aggressive afforestation and reforestation agenda of the government.
In 2022, the target of Green Ghana Day was to plant at least 20 million trees on the Green Ghana Day which was slated for Friday, June 10th, 2022.
The Green Ghana initiative sought to create enhanced national awareness of the necessity for collective action towards the restoration of degraded landscape in the country, inculcate in the youth the value of planting and nurturing trees and their associated benefits, mitigate watersheds, enhance livelihoods towards communities through engagement in the production of trees seedlings, and to beautify communities and the environment.
Last year, more than 26 million trees were planted, exceeding the 20 million target. The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II officially launched this year’s edition of the Green Ghana Day on May 17 at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, urging all well-meaning Ghanaians to support the tree planting exercise taking place on Friday, June 9, 2023, across the country with the goal of planting 10 million seedlings.
The Green Ghana Project is an essential intervention to raise national awareness of the need for collaborative action towards the restoration of the damaged landscapes as the government has been taking numerous steps to replace the nation’s lost forest cover since 2017.
The initiative also intends to instill in citizens—especially the younger generation—the ideals of planting and caring for trees in order to lessen the consequences of climate change and enhance the environment.
