The President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency (H.E.) John Dramani Mahama, has kicked off the 2025 Tree for Life Reforestation Initiative (T4L) with a commemorative tree planting event, at the Kwabenya Community Senior High School.
Along with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR), the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Forestry Commission (FC) , the day’s events encapsulated the essence of the T4L and the One child , One Tree Projects with talks on tree planting, plastic waste management and free distribution of seedlings by the FC. The latter project, according to the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology , Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed (MP), is a flagship contribution to the T4L by his ministry.
The event drew participation from the Member of Parliament for the Dome- Kwabenya Constituency, Hon. Elikplim Akurugu,some traditional authorities from the local community and students of the Kwabenya Community Senior High, Kwabenya Cluster of Schools and the Ghana Atomic Energy Basic Schools.
The Tree for Life Reforestation Initiative, according to President Mahama seeks to restore at least 7 million hectares of degraded land, and plant 30 million of tree seedlings nationwide. He declared,” I am pleased to announce the 2025 tree planting exercise, which begins on the 5th of June and will continue through to June 30th”.
H. E. John Dramani Mahama in his address, also touched on strides made in the fight against illegal mining in Ghana and commended the joint efforts of the MLNR and MEST, along with law enforcement agencies. He explained that up to 300 excavators used in illegal mining had been seized and 8 out of 9 forest reserves which were deemed “red zones” as illegal miners were armed to the teeth, have been reclaimed, with advancements to liberate the ninth. “We have 288 forest reserves in Ghana and out of these, 44 have been invaded by illegal small scale miners”, President John Mahama stated and furthered to reiterate the pertinence of the fight against this canker, stating that the liberation of our forest reserves are important as they are the life source to our water bodies.
The day’s events came to a close with the tree planting exercise, photo sessions and refueled energy to make Ghana green.
