Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister has led the nationwide tree planting exercise in the Upper West Region in Wa amidst heavy downpour.
The head of government led a team of Heads of Departments and Agencies, including some staff of the Forestry Commission and youth in Wa, to plant a tree at the Wa Forest close to Danku in the Wa Municipality to kick start the “Green Ghana” project in the region.
The regional Minister led the “Green Ghana” tree planting exercise in the region to plant a projected number of 150,000 trees across the 11 administrative districts of the region.
Addressing the people prior to planting the tree, he urged them to take the tree planting exercise very seriously to help avert the potential desertification of the country.
The government, through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, had initiated the “Green Ghana” project aimed at planting five million trees on Friday, June 11, 2021 as part of efforts by the government to reclaim the lost vegetative cover of the country.
Dr Hafiz Bin Salih said the forest cover of the country was about 8.8 million hectares in the 1990s but had worrisomely reduced to about 1.5 million hectares currently, and warned that if pragmatic measures were not taken to reverse the situation, the entire forest cover of the country would be depleted.
The Regional Minister said 11th June would henceforth be christened “Green Ghana” day which would be observed annually.
He encouraged the general public to not only to plant the tree, but to also nurture it to survive, and that he will take note of the tree he planted and occasionally go to see whether the tree is surviving or not.
“I want to urge all of us, the issue is not about planting trees but also nurturing them to survive. So, I am going to take note of where I am going to plant this tree and occasionally I will come to see whether the tree is surviving or not,” Dr Salih said.
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