Government Will Ban Wooden School Furniture to Save Trees- President Mahama

Story by Bismark Oppong

HIS EX.JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA

 President John Dramani Mahama has announced that government will issue a directive to stop the use of wood for school furniture, requiring schools to use recycled plastic or metal furniture instead to reduce tree cutting.

The president said the directive aims to prevent the simultaneous planting and cutting down of trees.

Speaking at the World Environment Day 2025 celebration in Accra on Thursday, President Mahama also launched the One Tree Per Child initiative, a nationwide program that will engage every school-aged Ghanaian child in planting and nurturing at least one tree as part of government efforts to address environmental degradation and plastic pollution.

Each child will receive a seedling chosen to suit their local ecology and will be guided by teachers, environmental officers, forestry officers and traditional leaders in caring for their trees, he added.

The president projected that by 2030, the program will result in tens of millions of trees planted across Ghana to stabilize soils, cool cities, absorb carbon dioxide and restore degraded ecosystems.

Mahama described each tree as serving as “a lesson in responsibility, sustainability and civic pride” while the furniture directive ensures that environmental restoration efforts are not undermined by continued tree cutting for school equipment.

The One Tree Per Child initiative builds on the Tree for Life afforestation program launched in March in Nkawie, in the Ashanti Region, which targets restoration of 7 million hectares of degraded land and planting of millions of trees nationwide.

The president formally commenced the 2025 National Tree Planting Exercise, which runs from June 5 to June 30, with a target of planting 30 million trees across the country.

He called on all Ghanaians, from schoolchildren and market traders to traditional leaders and professionals, to participate in what he termed a “vital national assignment.”

Source www,ghanansemonline.ml / ISD