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The Nanton District Assembly in the Northern Region has begun an exercise to plant 8,000 tree seedlings in various communities, as part of efforts to protect the environment while mitigating the impact of climate change.

The Assembly, through its Department of Agriculture, has engaged the Youth in Afforestation under the Youth Employment Agency, to plant the seedlings throughout June.

The species include mahogany, cassia, and teak.

The exercise climaxed the Northern Region’s celebration of this year’s World Environment Day, which is marked on June 05, to amongst others, sensitise the citizenry to support efforts at restoring the environment.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with support from Olam Ghana, an agri-commodity company, held the celebration at Nanton, on Friday, under the theme: “Protecting Biodiversity: Our survival depends on it.”

Olam Ghana provided 5,000 seedlings; while the Forestry Commission provided 3,000 seedlings for the exercise.

Mr Abukari Hathiramani, District Chief Executive for Nanton, said protecting biodiversity was a collective responsibility, and urged all “to collectively protect trees, wildlife, and water resources from contamination and degradation.”

Historical data made available by the EPA indicates more than 4,000 dams and streams had been lost in the Region between 1947 and 2015.

Bush burning, indiscriminate felling of trees, illegal mining and hunting, amongst others, have contributed to the destruction of the environment, leading to the worsening climatic conditions.

Mr Abu Iddrisu, Northern Regional Director of the EPA, condemned the rampant destruction of the environment and urged all public and private institutions to incorporate environmental management into their activities to promote its sustainability.

Mr Iddrisu asked the citizenry to, especially, take fire control issues seriously to help protect the environment.

Mr Bernard Tabil, Northern Regional Director of the Forestry Commission, pledged the commitment of the Commission to champion efforts at greening the country, saying there were seedlings available at the Commission to be accessed by communities for afforestation purposes.

Alhaji Abdul Razak Saani, Northern Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education, condemned group hunting and poor land management practices, and urged all to “Let the protection of the environment be your business.”

Meanwhile, Olam Ghana has supplied an additional 20,000 tree seedlings to the EPA, and would partner with it to plant them in various communities in the Region in the course of the year.

Last year, the organisation supplied 11,000 tree seedlings to the EPA for the same purpose.