The Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area, Togbega Gabusu V11, on Friday 9th June 2023, planted the ceremonial tree at the frontage of the Hohoe Sports Stadium, which is under construction to mark the 2023 edition of the Green Ghana Day in the Hohoe Municipality.
Addressing the participants, Togbega Gabusu V11 emphasized that, trees are important ecological elements human beings cannot survive without as they provide food and food security, habitat for wildlife, serve the purpose of windbreak, check erosion, provide shade, materials for construction, medicine among others.
Touching on the theme for the 2023 edition of the Green Ghana Day, "Our Forest, Our Health", Togbega Gabusu V11 said, "In no doubt, it resonates with me since my infant life, I have realized that, my Traditional Area, The Gbi Traditional Area has been dependant on the vegetation for sustaining and promoting good health"
He added, "Even in the technological advancement, the people are remarkably attached to the forest which is an indication that they can not survive without the forests".
Togbega Gabusu V11 advised that it is imperative for the people of the Gbi Traditional Area and the people of Ghana to ensure the sustainable management of the forest and get resources to find solutions to mitigate all actions destroying the forest and trees.
" As part of my efforts in pursuing and promoting green Ghana, as the Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area, I'm supporting the 2023 Green Ghana Day by planting a tree and I urge you all to plant trees whenever possible, be it your homes, office premises, schools, roadside, river courses and degraded forests reserves" Togbega Gabusu V11 declared.
He was quick to point out that, a much more efficient thing to do to have a larger effect for the same effort of planting trees and sustaining the forests is to stop the indiscriminate cutting of trees and burning of the forest.
This he said, is because it might make no sense that whiles planting a huge number of new trees, we turn around and cut down the existing ones and burn the forest which would render the efforts null and void.
He concludes that he as the overlord of the Gbi Traditional Area cannot wait to see a completely green Gbi Traditional Area.
The Municipal Chief Executive of the Hohoe Municipal Assembly, Hon Noble Daniel Awumeh in his address disclosed that the Hohoe Municipality will plant 20,000 trees including 300 cashew and Mahogany trees.
Expressing his gratitude to the Paramount chief, the Elders, and the people, Hon Awumeh appealed to them to extend the same level of commitment they have demonstrated towards the Green Ghana Day to other Government investments and interventions in other sectors to help grow and develop Mother Ghana.
Hon Noble Awumeh assured the chiefs and people of the Gbi Traditional Area that, the ceremonial tree planting by Togbega Gabusu V11 at the frontage of the Hohoe Sports Stadium and all other trees planted in the Hohoe Municipality will be well watered and nurtured so they can grow well to green Hohoe.
The Green Ghana Day was initiated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo -Addo in 2021 under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources as part of an aggressive afforestation and reforestation agenda of the government.
The initiative is aimed at restoring the lost forest cover of the country devastated by illegal small-scale mining known as "Galamsey" and timber logging, and also to inculcate the values of planting and nurturing trees in the citizens, particularly the young generation.
The maiden edition in 2021 targeted 5 million trees but ended with over 7 million trees.
In 2022, more than 26 million trees were planted exceeding the 20 million target.
Story by: Collins Boateng