A passionate appeal has been made to the youth of Ghana to take keen interest in the planting of and caring for trees, to help avert the effects of deforestation and global warming in Ghana.

This appeal was made at the launch of the Green Republic Project, a youth-led tree planting project that seeks to plant about 20 million trees across Ghana by the year 2028.

Speaking at the launch of the project Radach Hotel in Tamale, the convener for the Green Republic Project, Nana Yaw Osei-Darkwa said it was about time the youth of the country were made aware of the rate at which the country’s forests are being depleted and the dire consequences that deforestation poses to future generations.

“As leaders of tomorrow, the youth of Ghana have a sacred responsibility to play active roles in finding lasting solutions to challenges of the present that has the potential to negatively impact the future. One of such challenges remains deforestation and the effects of climate change and global warming,” Mr. Osei-Darkwa stated.

He explained that starting from 1st July, 2018, the project supported by its lead sponsor Humano Energy, an oil firm, in collaboration with the Forestry Commission, and the Northern Regional Coordinating Council would plant 10,000 trees in Tamale and its environs.

He said the project was a creative response to the challenge of climate crisis threatening human existence and development.
“As young people who will have to endure the repercussions of a deforested nation one of which remains climate change and global warming, we have decided to purchase the future with the present by acting decisively today through tree planting,” he noted.

“Our goal is to instigate the planting of millions of trees every year to help avert the catastrophic repercussions of climate change and global warming. Which to a large extent is occasioned by greenhouse emissions coupled with deforestation rates globally,” he noted.

He explained that the project couldn’t have come at a better time than a period were the government of Ghana is embarking on its famous One District, One Factory project.

“With the One District, One Factory project in place, the need to plant more trees to absorb greenhouse gases even gets more urgent because these factories no matter how small they may be will be emitting tons of carbons into the atmosphere which presents a cause for worry,” Nana Yaw Osei-Darkwaa stressed.

He encouraged celebrities most of whom are within the youth bracket to lend their support to this project as their contribution to building a healthy future for themselves and their fans.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Mr Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie , said he was excited to observe that the Green Republic Project theme falls in line with the Forestry Commission's vision of leaving future generations and their communities with richer, better, more valuable forestry and wildlife endowments than was inherited.
“’It would be interesting to note that as a matter of urgency, my outfit, the Forestry Commission together with some other international organizations have come up with various initiatives and projects to help reverse the negative trend of tree depletion and environmental degradation,” he said in a statement read by the Northern Regional Manager of the Forestry Commission, Mr Bernard Tabil.

He revealed that a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Forestry Commission and the Youth Employment Agency to employ 15,000 youth across the country to embark on tree planting initiatives. .
“I wish on this note to pledge the commitment of the Forestry Commission to provide the necessary technical advice and planting material to the Green Republic Project in order to be able to plant trees across the entire country,” he said.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Humano Energy, Dr Richard Atuahene called on the Ghanaian business community to pay particular attention to issues bothering on climate change by supporting initiatives such as the Green Republic Project. He also encouraged businesses to adopt renewable sources of energy to help curb greenhouse gas emissions.

The Chief of Tamale, Dakpema Alhassan Dawuni also expressed interest in the project and pledged to canvass the support of the youth of Tamale to help plant millions of trees. He advised that the aftermath of planting trees in terms of sustainability was always a challenge and called on the organizers to take that into consideration.