Volta’s Forests Under Siege: Tree Planting Drive Takes Aim at Bushfires and Land Encroachment

• The Volta Regional Coordinating Council has launched a tree-planting campaign to combat bushfires and illegal forest encroachment
• Over 300,000 trees are set to be planted during these efforts, which include a strong call for community-led environmental stewardship
• Authorities warned that unless attitudes toward land use and fire changed, the region faced long-term ecological and agricultural decline

The Volta Region is turning over a new leaf, literally and figuratively, in its battle against environmental degradation.

Bushfires, illegal farming, and encroachment have devastated once-lush forest reserves in the area of hHana.

But now, local authorities are fighting back with a tree-planting campaign that goes beyond greenery: it is about saving the region’s ecological soul.

According to Augustus Awitty, the chief director of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC), the greatest threats to Volta’s natural resources stem not only from climate shifts but also from human negligence.

“What we’re facing is not just climate change, but deliberate acts of neglect - from setting bushfires to encroaching upon protected lands,” he said.

Communities in the Ho Municipality and Adaklu District are among the worst affected.

Uncontrolled fires have disrupted rainfall patterns and stripped the land of its fertility.

Farmers are struggling, forest belts are vanishing, and food security is under threat.

300,000 trees in Volta to restore hope

The VRCC has committed to planting 300,000 seedlings across the region.

However, officials were quick to stress that this was not a ceremonial gesture; it serves as a wake-up call.

“This is not just a tree-planting event. It’s a warning. If we continue burning and encroaching, our future will burn with it,” Awitty warned.

The project aligns with the national Green Ghana Day campaign but seeks to craft a distinctly local response to an escalating environmental emergency.

This campaign is not led by the government alone. Traditional leaders, students, NGOs, and local assemblies have been called upon to serve as long-term stewards of the trees they plant.

The Forestry Commission is training schools and communities not only to plant but also to nurture and monitor the young trees, transforming the project into a year-round responsibility.

“Protecting our forests isn’t a one-day job. It’s a moral obligation to future generations," Awitty added.

Symbolic roots, real impact in Volta Region

As seedlings go into the ground across the Volta Region, they carry more than environmental promise; they are cultural statements, rooted in the community’s responsibility to guard its future.

In a region where nature and tradition are deeply intertwined, this movement signals a turning point. The survival of Volta’s forests may now depend not just on the trees, but on the people who choose to protect them.

YouTuber urges Ghanaians to invest in Volta

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that popular Ghanaian YouTuber, Wode Maya, urged Ghanaians to explore the Volta Region and consider building vacation homes there.

In a post on X, he praised the area’s beauty, cleanliness, and serenity, calling it 'Ghana’s best-kept secret', sharing his admiration for places like the Wli Waterfalls.

Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh