By Josephine Nyeweah in Kenema district.
The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jiwoh E. Abdulai, now renamed Maada Gola, has called on all and sundry in the nation to plant one more tree in a year, adding that forest is life.
He made this call while addressing hundreds of community members and other stakeholders from the seven chiefdoms in the east and south of the country that make up the Gola Rainforest Conservation Limited by Guarantee National Park at Joru Court Barry in Gaura Chiefdom Kenema district on Thursday, March 21, 2024, in celebration of International Forest Day 2024.
He thanked the community members for taking care of the forests up to this moment, and he urged them to continue conserving the forests for the benefit of themselves and the generations yet to be born.
The Minister called on all to pay a visit to the Gola Rainforest Conservation Limited by Guarantee, adding that there are unique features of the Gola Rainforest that he saw when he paid a visit to the Lalehun community in Gaura Chiefdom.
The permanent secretary, Mohamed Kargbo, outlines some of the benefits of the forests if all continue to preserve them.
The manager of GRCLG, Fomba Kanneh, thanked the community for their support in conserving the forest, saying they will continue to benefit as long as they continue embracing conservation.
He disclosed that the Minister has approved the support for 4 university students per chiefdom on a yearly basis, totaling 28 students per national park, and he appealed to the community to judiciously utilize whatever support they are getting from GRCLG.
The Paramount chief of Gaura Chiefdom PC Muslim Sandy Gbatekaka V, on behalf of his colleagues, assured the GRCLG, government, and partners of the community continue their total support for conservation. He renamed the minister Maada Gola for his efforts in protecting the forests across the nation.
Cultural performance and planting of trees by all climax the ceremony.
