WATCH : What Otumfour Osei Tutu Have Agreed With King Charles

Asantehene and King Charles III agree to restore Ghana's degraded lands.

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and King Charles III have reached an agreement regarding the reclamation of Ghana's degraded lands and forest reserves.

Technical environment teams from the United Kingdom and Ghana are expected to conduct a series of meetings to discuss ways to restore illegally mined lands.

The collaborative effort would involve the formulation of land reclamation policies.

The Asantehene disclosed that his private engagements with King Charles III during the latter's coronation in the United Kingdom led to their collaboration to plant trees to reduce carbon emissions.

Otumfuo stressed the importance of preserving the nation's forest reserves and halting land degradation.

At the Green Ghana Day inauguration at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, he spoke.

"Trees contribute significantly to environmental protection, climate change mitigation, and the improvement of marginal communities' standard of living."

In addition, they are home to millions of species that contribute to the earth's sustainability," he said.

King Charles III is renowned for his dedication to environmental protection and refining activities to combat climate change.

Prior to the government's plan to plant trees in an effort to restore Ghana's imperiled lands and forest reserves, the Asantehene has pledged to plant trees throughout the Ashanti region.

According to him, 2.5 million trees were planted in 2019 on a 4,000-hectare plot of land to secure Lake Bosomtwe.

The overlord of the Asante kingdom stated that he has a teak plantation on approximately 640 acres in Kumawu, reiterating his commitment to tree cultivation and recognizing the value of trees.

He stated, "I am collaborating with the Forestry Commission to plant more trees in various parcels I own in the region."

Even though the Ashanti region has planted more trees than any other region since the inception of Green Ghana Day, illegal small-scale mining is rampant throughout the region.

According to reports, the Nkawie Forestry district in the Ashanti region planted the greatest number of seedlings on Green Ghana Day in 2022.

John Allotey, chief executive officer of the Forestry Commission, stated at the inauguration of the third Green Ghana Day that 81% and 72% of the trees planted in 2021 and 2022 respectively survived.

According to him, more local trees were planted during the previous edition.

"One of the distinguishing characteristics of the 2022 edition of Green Ghana was that 35 percent of the seedlings were planted in Ghana's forest reserves.

This helps increase the proportion of economically viable tree species planted over the past two years to 75%, he explained.