Green Ghana trees have recorded high survival rate in the Ashanti Region two years after the exercise.
Moves are underway to replace dead ones by the officials from the Forestry Commission in the Ashanti Region.
Many of the tree seedlings planted in 2021 and 2022 under the Green Ghana Day have survived the hot weather in Ashanti Region.
Checks by 3news.com in Kumasi has revealed that nearly all the trees planted in forest areas and off-forest reserves have survived and are growing very well.
Relatedly, trees which were planted by personalities like the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu, in the Royal Golf Club in Kumasi, Regional Security Council and other groups are all blossoming.
While many of the trees planted in off-forest reserves, including schools and medians of roads, in front of people’s house, roundabouts, roadsides have survived, others are battling with weeds for survival.
Some of the trees, which survived and started blossoming, have been eaten by animals because of inadequate monitoring and nurturing.
Over seven million trees were planted in Ashanti Region between 2021 and 2022 as a government intervention to help restore the country’s degraded landscape and mitigate the impact of climate change.
However, two years after the trees were planted, our visit to some parts of the region and interactions with officials of the Forestry Commission revealed that although the survival rate of the trees was good, inadequate nurturing was affecting their development.
The Region is expected to plant 4 million trees under the exercise this year.
The Ashanti Regional Manager of the Forestry commission, Clement Omari, said the region has achieved 80 percent survival rate.
He said trees planted in forest areas were doing well.
However, Mr Omari stated inadequate rainfall and poor maintenance culture had caused some of the trees planted in off-forest areas like schools, churches, streets to wither.
“We needed cages to protect the trees, but this did not happen; so animals ate the trees,” Mr Omari noted.
He called on MMDAs within whose jurisdiction the trees were planted to take steps to protect them.
He also underscored the need for owners of domestic animals especially cattle, goats and sheep, to restrain them, from straying into public spaces to destroy plants and other property.
One of the forest districts which planted more trees during the two year period is the Nkawie Forest District.
The team observed earlier this year that some of the tree seedlings planted on the median of the road, backyard farms, streets were struggling to survive because of inadequate rainfall.
However, as of Wednesday, June 7, 2023 when the team visited the spot again, it was observed that some of the trees had revived because of the rain.
On the same stretch, it was also observed that trees that could not withstand the drought had wilted.
The Nkawie Forest District has far planted 1.2 million trees under the exercise and expected to add 400,000 trees this year.
The Nkawie District Forest Manager, Nifaasoyir Chrisantus, said the exercise has contributed a lot to landscape restoration, especially within the degraded forest reserves and off-forest reserves.
He said most of the trees are doing well and encouraged the public to support the exercise.
“Nkawie Forest District has contributed its quota towards the restoration of degraded forest reserves in the region,” he said.
He said they have started distribution of tree seedlings to various agencies ahead of 2023 Green Ghana Day.
By Benjamin Aidoo|Akoma FM|3news.com|Ghana