Ghana’s Tree-Planting Campaigns Sound Cool, but Tree-Planting Alone Isn’t Enough

Here’s what more needs to be done

Photo by Wim van ‘t Einde on Unsplash

In Ghana, the month of June is synonymous with lots of rainfall and tree-planting drives.

In 2021, it was the campaign to plant 5 million trees. In 2022, it’s green Ghana day — a similar campaign to plant more trees as part of the climate fight, among other benefits.

This latest exercise hit the ground on Friday, June 10, with many celebrities backing the initiative to have more tree barks around town.

So it started with the Forestry Commission making seedlings available for various organizations to pick up and plant. And pose for a few memorable shots. Why not?

To top it all off, it rained in parts of the country — at least I can speak for the capital where I live — and the rain showers will water the seedlings. The stars couldn’t have aligned better to make everything click.

But despite all the good intentions behind those campaigns, goings-on around town make things feel like we’re eating our eggs before the chicken even lays them.

We’re felling trees at an absurd rate

Many organizations have raised the red alert on the rate of deforestation in…