Mr Samuel Pyne, the Mayor of Kumasi, Friday defied an early morning downpour to plant a mahogany tree seedling, at the J.A Kufuor Senior High School Park, Sokoban, as part of activities marking the Green Ghana Day.

The Day is marked to whip up the enthusiasm for tree planting, thereby helping to increase Ghana’s forest cover, which has reduced significantly over the years due to deforestation.

In all, the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) envisages to plant about 20, 000 tree seedlings of varied species in commemoration of the Day.

Mr Pyne said in the wake of the changing climatic conditions, which had an adverse effect on the environment and mankind, it was appropriate for stakeholders to embrace tree planting to improve the ecology and biodiversity.

“The exercise is critical in beautifying, protecting and enhancing environmental sustainability,” he told the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Kumasi, on the side-line of the programme.

Some of the tree species planted across the metropolis to mark the Day were teak, royal palm and mahogany, and provided by the Forestry Commission.

The theme for this year’s Day was “Mobilising for a Greener Future”.

Mr Pyne said the assembly was working hard to complement the government’s agenda of afforestation, environmental protection and conservation, and to avert the emerging threats posed by climate challenges.

He called on Ghanaians, especially the youth, to develop a keen interest in tree planting.

According to him, the Assembly in 2021 planted a little over 15,000 tree species, adding that more than 90 per cent of these trees were thriving.

In all, the Ashanti Region envisages to plant about 2,000,000 tree species.