The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and some partners have planted 1,000 tree species to help restore the lost cover of the Chipa forest reserve at Agomeda, Greater Accra Region. The partners, the Church of Pentecost, and UN Volunteers, engaged in the tree planting exercise on Friday, June 7, as part of the government's nation-wide Green Ghana Day initiative. The Green Ghana Day, started in 2021, is aimed at promoting environmental conservation and sustainability by encouraging citizens to plant and nurture trees to combat deforestation. According to forestry authorities, about 50 hectares (equivalent to 50 football fields) of the 2,410 hectares Chipa forest reserve has been degraded, through bushfire. The forest reserve serves as a habitat for animals like moneys, antelopes, and various species of birds, while absorbing carbon to ensure fresh air for people beyond the Agomeda community. Kwabena Bajaben Genfi, a Forest Range Manager with the Forestry Commission, said, the tree planting would help restore the lost forest cover, combat climate change, and create a resilient space for human and animal habitation. He said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, noting that by ensuring a well-maintained forest cover, it would enable the community to prepare for drought. 'The trees that we're planting today will in the near future sink the carbons that are polluting the atmosphere with and serve as pollutant filters for us to have fresh air,' he said. Bajaben Genfi said the Commission periodically engaged in community education and sensitisation to mitigate the activities of bushfire and deployed its forest guards to patrol the reserve. He was, however, concerned that some community members still did not abide by the education on protecting and preserving the reserve, encouraging them to stop such habits to protect and preserve the reserve. He stated that the Commission, as done with previous trees planted in the reserve, would engage in maintenance activities to ensure that the objective of the Green Ghana project was achieved. Mr Samuel Appiagyei-Danquah, Environment Cluster Division, UNDP Ghana, said the exercise was to contribute to the planting of 10 million trees across the country as part of the 2024 Green Ghana Day. He stated that the UNDP had a broader programme of greening Ghana, with projects being implemented in the northern part of the country and other forest areas for reforestation. 'We also have other modules where we're partnering with farmers to plant commercial trees on their farms, so that while they earned income from those tree crops, they also protect and preserve the environment,' he said. Source: Ghana News Agency