CENTRAL REGION LAUNCHES LOCAL ACTION FOR BIODIVERSITY (PAGE 39)

THE Central Regional Minister, Nana Ato Arthur, has launched a local action for biodiversity project to plant 53,000 trees in the region.
Speaking at the ceremony after which 5,000 seedlings were planted within the Cape Coast Metropolis by schoolchildren, Nana Ato Arthur said each of the remaining 16 districts of the region was expected to plant at least 3,000 seedlings.
Nana Ato Arthur, who is also contesting the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Constituency seat on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party, said that it was estimated that Ghana’s total forest area dwindled from 8.5 million hectares in the early 1980s to 1.2 million hectares in 2000.
He said that these losses of the country’s forest cover had been estimated to cost about ¢10.8 billion per annum in enviornmentally-related disasters such as strong winds, bush fires, reduced rainfall pattern, among others.
He reiterated the environmental, ecological and economical benefits from trees and urged all to support the project to reverse the cause of deforestation.
Nana Ato Arthur also commended the German Development Service (DED) for supporting the project.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive for Cape Coast, Ms Mercy Arhin, said it was time to give back to the earth which had fed us over the years by planting more trees to replace those that had been destroyed through human action such as illegal logging and farming.
The Oguaamanhen, Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, urged citizens of the metropolis to embrace the project and nurture the seedlings to make the metropolis a garden city.
A World Bank representative, Mr Peter Kustensen, also underscored the need to plant trees since biodiversity is linked with poverty reduction.