The Forestry Commission has officially kick-started the month-long Tree for Life initiative in the Northern Region to plant over 1.1 million trees. The environmental exercise commenced with a symbolic tree-planting session at the frontage of the Residency of the Northern Regional Coordinating Council in Tamale, aimed at restoring degraded lands, mitigating deforestation, and reclaiming landscapes damaged by illegal mining activities.
The regional launch brought together senior government officials, conservation experts, and traditional authorities to signal the commencement of the cross-border greening campaign.
Staff of the Forestry Commission were joined by the Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, Alhaji Adam Abubakari Takoro, and the Chief of Lamashegu, Lamashe-Naa Alhaji Mohammed Iddrisu.
The initiative is part of a broader, sustained national government master plan that maintains a strict target of planting 30 million trees across the country this year.
In a speech delivered on behalf of the Northern Regional Minister, Mr Ali Adolf John, Alhaji Takoro appealed directly to both public and private corporate bodies to actively support the exercise.
He urged all Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs), alongside local assembly members, to collect free seedlings from the nearest Forestry Commission offices for deployment within their respective jurisdictions.
The Minister emphasised that massive tree planting remains a vital tool for environmental protection, building climate resilience, and creating sustainable green jobs for rural youths.
Detailing the structural goals of the project, the Northern Regional Manager of the Forestry Commission, Mr Kwasi Frimpong, explained that the campaign is specifically designed to cultivate a strict culture of forest nurturing among the youth.
Speaking on behalf of the region’s traditional institutions, Lamashe-Naa Alhaji Iddrisu commended the government for sustaining the project into its second year.
He called on all sub-chiefs and residents to actively participate in the month-long exercise while enforcing strict community laws to discourage the indiscriminate felling of trees.
