Ghana fights deforestation by planting 5 million trees in 1 day

Students, community leaders, celebrities, and politicians in Ghana all came together to revitalize the country's forests.

As part of the Green Ghana program, 5 million trees were planted on Friday, with the government giving free seedlings to individuals, schools, and organizations. Government statistics show that in 1900, Ghana had 20 million acres of forest cover, and today, that has dropped to about 4 million acres.

The forests are being ravaged due to small-scale mining and rampant illegal logging, and now is the "time for action," Ghana's Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor told Agence France-Presse. "The aim of Green Ghana is to save us now and our future generations. We can't fail our future leaders."

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The government, which will sustain this program for the next five years, gave extra seedlings out to students like Rosemond Asante, 12, so they could also plant with their parents at home. Asante told Al Jazeera they were "happy to be part of this beautiful event," adding, "I love trees."