Environmental Group, Eco-Conscious Citizens is challenging the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, to provide evidence to support his claim that 30 million out of over 41 million trees planted from 2021 to 2023 under the Green Ghana Agenda have survived. During the launch of the 4th Edition of the Green Ghana Day scheduled for Friday, 7th June 2024, Mr Jinapor disclosed that 41 million trees have been planted since the inception of the government’s flagship afforestation initiative, Green Ghana, in 2021. He said a remarkable 30 million of the threes are thriving at different growth stages. “In the maiden edition, we targeted five million trees. With your support, over seven million trees were planted. In 2022, we raised our ambition to at least twenty million trees. Again, you supported us, and over twenty-four million trees were planted. Last year, you once more supported us to plant over ten million seven hundred thousand trees, bringing the total number of trees planted over the years to in excess of forty-one million.
Mr Samuel Jinapor
“So far, the Field Assessment Report shows that, on average, we had a sixty-seven percent survival rate in 2021, seventy-two percent in 2022, and eighty-one percent in 2023. This means that we have some thirty million trees surviving to date, and our task continues to be to nurture them to full maturity,” he stated. However, speaking to Journalists in Accra during the celebration of World Environment Day, the Founder of Eco-Conscious Citizens, Awula Serwah argues that the figures are inaccurate. According to her, the Green Ghana Agenda is a mere charade by the government while it ignores the real environmental issues on the ground. She is therefore demanding an independent audit of the Green Ghana Policy. #
Awula Serwah speaking to journalists (File Photo)
She also reiterated their demands for the repeal of EI 144 and LI 2642. Executive Instrument (EI) 144 declassified parts of the Achimato Forest as a forest reserve, allowing for its redevelopment, while the Legislative Instrument (LI2462) allows for mining in a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area. Awula Serwa said, the repeal of the EI 144 and the LI 2462 would help to protect the remaining tracts of primary forest reserves in the country.