Management and Staff of Prudential Bank has joined the government’s forest restoration project by acquiring hectors of land at the Achimota Forest in Accra and the Chipa Forest Reserve in the Eastern region to plant trees in support of the programme.
A team from the Bank was at the Achimota Forest Reserve last week to plant trees in response to the government’s call under the Tree for Life Restoration Initiative designed to rehabilitate degraded lands, mitigate climate change, and restore polluted water bodies to their natural state.
The Team also took the opportunity to maintain the trees planted in the past, pruned them, loosened the soil around the plants to allow water penetration and watered the plants for growth.
Speaking to the press, Executive Head, Corporate and Institutional Banking at the Bank, Edward Commey, noted that the Bank has been supporting green Ghana initiatives for the past five years and that the acquisition of the two hector land, one each at Achimota Forest and the Chipa Forest Reserves is a demonstration of the Bank’s support for a better and sustainable environment for future generations.
“We are excited to be part of the programme. The saying that ‘when the last tree dies, the last man dies’, shows how important it is to keep our forests and environment preserved. We have been doing this for five years now because sustainability is key to us as a Bank. We are supporting this with full vigour both in financial terms and human resource support. We will continue to support this programme for un foreseeable years”, he said.
Chief Risk Officer of the Bank, Randal Ofori-Bouchi, whose department oversees the Sustainability Unit at Prudential Bank said they have initiated series of programmes to sustain the environment and called on individuals and Corporate Ghana to ensure the government’s drive.
“A lot of things have changed. We cannot even predict rain patterns any longer due to climate change caused in part by the degrading of the environment. Sustanaibility is a shared journey and we joined this campaign to plant trees to ensure a better environment. This is something all must support in diverse ways by contributing to support the Forestry Commission to maintain the forests and ensure the sustainability of the programme initiated by the state”, he said.
Emilia Oduro, Forest Range Manager at the Forestry Commission who led the exercise congratulated the staff and management of the Bank saying the Commission was grateful for their support over the years.
“Tree for life formerly Green for Life is to restore the environment. Prudential Bank has been a major supporter since the programme begun and have been with us all these years. The Forestry Commission is grateful for your loyalty. In every endeavor, maintenance is key to the success and sustainability of the initiative and we are delighted you are back to snsure what you have started is going well”, she said.
The Tree for Life Restoration initiative is aimed at initially reclaiming 16 hectares of land, with a target of expanding it to 500 acres annually and a long-term goal of restoring 10,000 hectares.
The initiative also aims to rehabilitate areas heavily degraded by illegal mining and deforestation, transforming them into ecologically functional landscapes, raise awareness about importance of tree planting and conservation, especially to children and the youth by instilling the value of tree planting, nurturing and environmental stewardship, enhancing urban greening by planting in cities, promoting sustainable livelihoods by creating green jobs in agroforestry, ecotourism, fish farming and apiculture.
President John Mahama who recently launched the initiative described it as a “project of hope, resilience, and a path to a sustainable future.”
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