The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor has disclosed that the government will soon begin an aggressive afforestation programme to help revegetate and sustain the forest reserves of the country.

This programme which he said will be done in collaboration with the central government, will ensure the restoration of the forest cover of Ghana.

He said this when he met with officials from the three main agencies of the Ministry at the Western North Regional Coordinating Council, on Wednesday, 22 September 2021.

During the meeting, Mr Jinapor asked for the support of all the agencies to help manage efficiently the lands and its resources.

The Minister said "the matters of the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry has to do with the survival and progress of the country. When you talk about the forest, the lands and the minerals of our country, that is our country and, therefore, needs to be protected".

He added "The forest resources of our country has been managed, exploited and utilised in a manner which has rendered it unsustainable."

Mr Jinapor, therefore, reiterated that until such a time that the forest resources of the country bounces back and can be sustained, the ban he placed on the harvesting and exploitation of forest reserves remains.

An advisory committee he said has been set up to think through ways to help bring back the life of Ghana's forest reserves and also to fashion out an intelligent way forward on how the forest can be exploited in a sustainable manner.

Mr Jinapor pointed out that if the forest reserve of the country is not exploited, there are industries which will suffer because they depend on the forest for their raw materials to stay in business but he noted that if it must be done, then it must be done well.