The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has announced that government exceeded its 2025 afforestation target, planting more than 30 million trees nationwide as part of efforts to restore degraded forests.
According to him, the exercise forms a key component of broader environmental sustainability policies aimed at reversing the effects of deforestation, particularly from illegal mining activities.
He stressed the urgency of safeguarding the country’s forest resources, calling for collective responsibility in protecting and restoring the environment.
“It is therefore paramount that we take deliberate and collective action to protect, restore and sustainably manage our forest resources. I am pleased to report that against the target of 30 million seedlings in 2025, we successfully distributed and planted over 30 million trees across the country,” he stated.
However, the Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah, has challenged the claim, raising concerns about the absence of detailed data to support the figures.
He questioned the lack of transparency regarding the specific regions and districts that benefited from the exercise, insisting that such information is crucial for accountability.
“You said you have planted 30 million trees without giving us the regions and districts that benefited. We need to know because we shouldn’t be proud as a country that we have lost about 80% of our forest cover,” he argued.
The development has sparked renewed calls for greater transparency in the implementation of environmental programmes, as stakeholders push for verifiable data to assess the impact of reforestation efforts.
