Ghana recently celebrated the first Green Ghana Day, a new annual holiday on which the government provides millions of seeds for citizens to plant trees.
5million trees were planted in an effort to preserve and protect the country’s forest cover and the environment at large, the Green Ghana Day grew out of the need to combat deforestation, as her forests have shrunk from 8.2 million to 1.6 million hectares.
Thousands of bags containing millions of different types of seedlings were distributed in all 16 regions of Ghana, as individuals and other organizations planted the tree throughout the country.
The government aims to plant the trees mostly on degraded land, including backyards, school compounds, residences, and roadside area, the Forest Commission created videos on social media to teach people how to plant their seedlings.
Ghana aimed to repair the country’s ecosystem with the Green Ghana Day, in the word of the President of Ghana, Akufo-Addo, he said, “The exploitation of forest resources for national development has not been sustainable over the years, We don’t have tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to do this. We have to act now.”
Leaders in Africa should begin to fight climate change and the erosion of the continent’s biodiversity just as Ghana has begin with the giant step.
Leaders should restored million hectares of land lost by growing trees in forests and on farms, restoring grasslands, and planting mangroves.
The restored landscapes would provide more food, water, energy, and jobs for millions of people living across Africa.
The economic opportunity is too great to pass up, money invested in restoration can provide economic benefits and healthy rural landscapes, with nature-based solution to climate change.
