President Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo is still not a happy man in spite of efforts by his government to increase Ghana’s forest cover.
Speaking at the launch of the 2022 Green Ghana Day in Accra today, he indicated that “forests continue to be one of the most important natural resources for our socio-economic development, especially for developing countries like ours, providing sources of livelihood to many, and returns from export on wood species.
That, he said was evident in the fact that “in 2021, for example, almost One Billion Ghana Cedis (GHS1,000,000,000.00) was generated from the export of wood.”
Last year, the government of Ghana through the Green Ghana Day initiative exceeded its target to plant 5m trees, most of which are said to be doing well.
Regrettably however, he revealed that “across the world, the exploitation of our forest resources, over the years, have been very unsustainable, leading to gradual loss of the world’s forest cover” and that “the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), for example, reports that between 1990 and 2020, the world lost over One Hundred and Seventy-Eight Million hectares (178,000,000 ha) of the forest, almost the size of the whole of Libya.”
Even though he admitted to the fact that there has been some improvement in the net rate of global forest loss over the last decade, the President indicated that “Africa continues, consistently, to experience an increasing net forest loss.”
It was for this reason he said “we must, therefore, make concerted efforts, to protect our forests for the benefit of current and future generations.”
Apart from their economic benefits, President Akufo-Addo said “forests are necessary for our own survival and the survival of our planet.”
Meanwhile, the world is currently battling with the crisis of climate change.
He recalled with nostalgic memory how some 30years ago, on May 9, 1992, the world adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where countries committed to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
Three decades on, he said “climate change is at an all-time high, and the climate crisis is now at a tipping point.”
That, he said was why the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), recently, warned that the world is on the verge of exceeding the 1.5o Celsius target they set for themselves, manifesting in changing rain patterns, rising sea levels, and surface temperatures, and the melting of the Antarctic ice and glaciers, with their attendant consequences on food and water security, poverty, increased inequalities, among others.
With just eight years to achieve the Goals they set for themselves in the Sustainable Development Goals, he noted with concern “climate change continues to derail our efforts, by impacting the fundamentals required to the achieve the Goals.
No poverty, Zero Hunger, Good health, Gender equality, Clean water, Affordable and clean energy, Reduced inequalities, Responsible consumption and production, Life on land, and Life below water, are all being negatively impacted by climate change.”
20 Million Trees
He, therefore, stressed the need for all to be passionate and committed to the fight against climate change and set out a target for Ghanaians to plant 20 million trees come June 10, 2022, the day set aside for the Green Ghana Day event.
“I therefore call on all of us gathered here, to go out and mobilise our populations, to support this year’s edition of Green Ghana Day”, was his clarion on countrymen and foreign nationals living in Ghana.
On that day, he charged “we must all go out to plant, and encourage our families and friends to do same. On that day, we must all make a commitment to leave a legacy for future generations through the planting of trees. And on that day, we must all commit to nurturing the trees we plant to maturity.”
On his party, Minister for Forestry and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor said “this year’s Green Ghana Day will witness the planting of trees on degraded forest lands, both on and off reserves, watersheds, boundaries, office compounds, and sites within communities, including, parks, roadsides, homes, farmsteads, churches, mosques and schools. We will collaborate with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Parks and Gardens and all relevant government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, to make this endeavour successful.”
“We intend, also, to pilot the concept of carbon trading with Corporate Ghana with the 2022 edition of Green Ghana”, he emphasised
He, therefore, noted that “all of us, from all walks of life, must come together and help build a Green Ghana.”
Article 41(k) of Ghana’s Constitution imposes a duty on every citizen to protect and safeguard the environment.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent
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