Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has lamented the rapid dwindling of Ghana’s forest cover.
He stated that Ghana’s forest cover dwindled to a mere 1.6 million hectares from a staggering 8.2 million hectares in 1900.
This distressing trend, he said, highlights the environmental degradation caused by various factors including informal small-scale mining and uncontrolled tree felling without commensurate reforestation efforts.
He observed that the goal of halting deforestation and restoring the forests, as outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be unattainable if Ghanaians persist in the current attitude toward the forest cover.
Delivering the keynote address at the 2023 observation of the Green Ghana Day in Parliament on Friday, June 9, 2023, the Speaker lamented how once blessed with a vast expanse of thriving rain forests, Ghana now ranks among the tropical nations with the highest percentage of deforestation.
He said, “This is precisely why initiatives like Green Ghana Day are of paramount importance in our national agenda.”
The theme for this year’s Green Ghana Day, “Our Forests, Our Health,” he said, aligns with the consequences faced when the vital need to protect the ecosystems and forests is disregarded.
And indicated the Forest Protection (Amendment) Act of 2002, Act 264 stands as a pillar for safeguarding the environment and promoting sustainable forestry practices.
“It emphasizes the severity of offenses committed within forest reserves and highlights the importance of obtaining written consent from authorized institutions before engaging in tree felling, timber removal, or any actions that may harm the forest ecosystem.”
“The Act imposes strict penalties for such offenses, underlining our unwavering commitment to protect and preserve our precious forest resources.”
Forests, dubbed the lush lungs of the planet play an irreplaceable role in mitigating the impacts of climate change.
They act as natural carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide and replenishing the atmosphere with oxygen, ensuring that the air being breathed in remains pure and invigorating.
According to Speaker Bagbin, it is essential to recognize the immense value of these ecosystems and take proactive measures to restore and conserve them.
Green Ghana Day, he said, therefore symbolizes an investment in a collective future and urged all Ghanaians to participate in this exercise actively.
He stressed that planting trees is not merely an ecological gesture but a profound act of love and responsibility toward the nation and health.
The Ag. Regional Manager of the Forestry Commission, George Agbonewoshi, disclosed the Forestry Commission plans to plant 10 million seedlings in degraded forests and forest reserves this year.
According to him, Greater Accra Region has targeted planting 850,000 different species of trees within communities.
He explained the Commission is keen on the success of the programme, hence enough seedlings have been transported to various locations to make them easily available to the citizenry.
