2023 Green Ghana Day to be held June 9 – Lands Minister

The 2023 edition of the Green Ghana Day has been fixed for Friday, June 9, 2023, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, MP, has announced at a press briefing on April 26.

He said the official launch of the Green Ghana Day will be performed by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, in Kumasi in the month of May.

The Green Ghana Day was instituted in 2021 by Government, under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, as part of an aggressive afforestation and reforestation programme to restore the lost forest cover of the country. At the maiden edition, over seven million trees were planted, exceeding the target of five million trees. And last year, over twenty-four million trees were planted, exceeding the target of twenty million trees.

Speaking at the Press Briefing, Mr. Jinapor said the 2021 edition had a survival rate of eighty-one percent (81%), while the 2022 edition had a survival rate of seventy-two percent (72%). This, he said, brings the total number of surviving trees for the two years to over twenty-three million (23,000,000).

The Minister underscored the important role trees and forests play in human survival and the survival of the earth. He said this year’s Green Ghana Day will be held under the theme “Our Forests, Our Health,” adding that the theme has been chosen “to reflect the importance of forests in our lives, and to remind us of the many health and related benefits we derive from forests.”

According to Mr. Jinapor, the target for this year’s Green Ghana Day is ten million (10,000,000) trees. He said the target has been revised downwards this year, to ensure that adequate resources and attention are devoted to nurturing the over twenty-three million (23,000,000) trees surviving from the first two editions of the Green Ghana Day. He said seedlings will be made available at the Ministry, the District Offices of the Forestry Commission, and designated locations, for collection on the Green Ghana Day.

The Minister also said opportunities are available for corporate Ghana to adopt compartments in forest reserves to plant, and the forest will be branded with the company’s name and logo. He called on Ghanaians of all walks of life, including traditional authorities, civil and public servants, doctors, lawyers, judges, teachers, nurses, artisans, and all residents of Ghana to support the Project, come out in their numbers, and make this year’s Green Ghana Day a success.