President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the government will prohibit the use of wood for manufacturing school furniture as part of a broader effort to protect Ghana’s environment.
The directive, expected to take effect soon, will require all basic and secondary schools to transition to recycled plastic or metal furniture, a shift aimed at preserving the country’s dwindling tree cover.
“We cannot plant trees with one hand and destroy them with the other,” he said. “This directive will ensure that our reforestation efforts are not undermined by the demand for wooden school furniture.”
The president made this announcement during the national celebration of World Environment Day 2025 held in Accra on Thursday, June 5, 2025, where he also unveiled a new nationwide afforestation campaign dubbed the One Tree Per Child initiative.
The One Tree Per Child initiative, he explained, is designed to instill environmental responsibility among young people. Every school-aged child in Ghana will be given a tree seedling to plant and care for, with guidance from teachers, environmental and forestry officers, as well as traditional leaders.
“Each child will receive a seedling suited to their local environment and will be supported in nurturing it to maturity,” President Mahama noted.
By 2030, the initiative is expected to result in tens of millions of trees being planted nationwide. The trees are intended to serve multiple environmental functions, including stabilizing soils, reducing urban heat, absorbing carbon emissions, and restoring degraded landscapes.
“Each tree will stand not just as a symbol of growth but as a lesson in responsibility, sustainability, and civic pride,” the president said.
The new campaign expands on the earlier Tree for Life afforestation programme launched in March in Nkawie, Ashanti Region, which targeted the restoration of over 7 million hectares of degraded land.
As part of Thursday’s ceremony, President Mahama officially launched the 2025 National Tree Planting Exercise. The month-long campaign, running from June 5 to June 30, aims to plant 30 million trees across all regions of Ghana.
He urged every citizen, from schoolchildren and farmers to professionals and traditional leaders, to get involved in what he called a “vital national assignment.”