The Government of Ghana is implementing the Tree for Life Restoration Initiative as a key transformative landscape restoration programme to rehabilitate areas severely degraded by illegal mining and restore them into ecologically functional landscapes, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has told Parliament.
The Minister made the disclosure in response to a parliamentary question from the Member of Parliament for Ho Central, Richmond Edem Kofi Kpotosu, who inquired about the Ministry’s plans to reclaim lands devastated by illegal mining activities.
Mr. Buah noted that under the Tree for Life initiative, 500 hectares of impacted forest reserves in the Ashanti, Western, and Western North Regions have been earmarked for reclamation.
He added that the initiative is one of several interventions the government is adopting to combat the menace of illegal mining, also known as “galamsey.”
In addition to forest reserves, the Minister revealed that other degraded landscapes outside protected areas will be restored under complementary programmes such as the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project and the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme.
As part of the Tree for Life initiative, 30 million tree seedlings are expected to be planted during the 2025 rainy season.
The programme officially commenced on June 5, 2025.
President John Dramani Mahama launched the Tree for Life initiative on March 21, 2025, as a flagship government programme to promote afforestation and agroforestry. The trees to be planted—by various government agencies, the private sector, and the general public—include both ornamental and food crops.
