The Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Dr. Hugh C.A. Brown, has announced that the Government of Ghana is committed to supporting and partnering with the private sector to achieve its goal of planting thirty million (30,000,000) trees this year to restore degraded forest reserves.
According to Dr. Brown, out of the total target of 30 million trees, the private sector is expected to contribute approximately 40% to ensure that Ghana’s commitment to reforestation and the fight against climate change is clearly demonstrated to the international community.
He noted that the Commission aims to plant 10,000 hectares of Modified Taungya, 4,000 hectares through recent planting techniques, and an additional 2,000 hectares directly using youth specifically engaged for the initiative.
Dr. Brown made these remarks at BibianiBassengele during the official inauguration of the Rainforest Builder’s Project Akwabaa Nursery, the largest indigenous tree nursery in Africa with a production capacity of 5 million seedlings.
Rainforest Builderaims to plant 2,000 hectares of depleted forest land this year.The company announced that will donate 10,000 seedlings to the Commission for the Tree for Life initiative.
In her welcome address, the General Manager of Rainforest Builder, Madam Enver Mapanda, outlined the mission of the organization and its achievements.
She revealed that they have collected 10,000 kg of seeds from naturally occurring mother trees and raised over 700,000 indigenous seedlings last year.
She added that within just 18 months of operations in the BibianiAnhwiaso Bekwai Municipality in the Western North Region, Rainforest Builder has successfully restored over 1,500 hectares of degraded forest land in the Anhwiaso South, Upper Wassaw, and Anhwiaso East Forest Reserves.
Nana Osoaman AckaahPainn II, the Abusuapanin of the Paramount Chief of SefwiAnhwiaso Traditional Area and Chief of SefwiPataboso, also addressed the gathering.
He commended the leadership of Rainforest Builder for using the land allocated for the Akwabaa Nursery project appropriately, emphasizing the medium- and long-term benefits of the project to SefwiMan and the nation at large.
Nana OsoamanAckaahPainn II also encouraged constructive dialogues between his communities and the companies for the fair distribution of benefits, notably with regards to wages.
He passionately appealed to the management of Rainforest Builder to adopt remuneration for their workers that matches their contribution to the company’s growth.
Report by: Awuku Addo, Western North Region
