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."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
July 26 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include Joe Biden's memoir, PBS funding, and an Obama-Trump comparison
-
5 low ratings cartoons about the Late Show cancellation
Cartoons Artists take on early warning signs, the Gen Z stare, and more
-
Connie Francis: Superstar of the early 1960s pop scene
In the Spotlight The 'Pretty Little Baby' and 'Stupid Cupid' singer has died aged 87
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada