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Sixty-One communities have planted 210, 878 assorted trees covering 250 hectares in the Northern Region.

The trees include; Kapok, Cashew, Mango, neem, mabogany and acasia.

The project which is carried out by Tree Aid and funded by Ecosia company-search engine of Germany started from 2018-2019 in Kulkpindul, Mafudo, Talani, Kamborido, yiwunido, Bichado, Banchini, Bandini communities in the Yendi Municipality.

Other recipients are; Gushegu Municipality and Mion District.

Tree Aid Also operates in Navrongo, Demango, Zabzugu, Tatale and Nanumba North.
Mr Jonathan Naaaba Anecham, Country Manager of Tree Aid announced this at a stakeholder meeting on DAKA river trees restoration project at Yendi in the Northern Region.

Mr. Jonathan Naaba said the trees were planted in 61 communities with nursery sites identified with key stake holders support with nurseries waiting to be fenced.

He said some communities started raising seedlings themselves by raising 122,000 assorted trees with planting sites in 25 villages in progress.

He said a Project Coordinator was engaged to supervise the project with, six Field Assistants and 12 Field Technicians recruited with the 61 communities engaged and sensitized on the project.

Touching on Riparian Buffer Zonation, the Country Manager said usually 60-90m from the water body is where farming could take place.

He said this is the zone where Tree Aid sustainable land management practices such as agroforestry can take place.

He said the project would also include a sustainable fire wood management scheme when implemented to increase food nutrition and income security and reduce fuel wood use through informed energy savers strategies to reduce carbon emission, tree felling and fuel wood use supported by SMa research work and 61,000 trees through the energy saving stoves and energy stones will be used to safe felling of trees.

Mr Jonathan Naaba announced their challenges as delays in completion of planting and data collection, bush fires, dry season tree irrigation, grazing animals, and cutting of ANR tree, as they grow.

He said 2,330,000 trees planted in riparian buffers zones and open parklands included; farmlands in 61 selected villages including; 800,000 ANR trees around Dakah river catchment for land and water bodies restoration and protection through enrichment tree planting ecologically adapted native tree species.

Mr Prosper Mensah an Agricultural Officer in Yendi in-charge of Extension advised the beneficiary communities of the project to take note of flooding insects and diseases that kill trees and group hunting call for setting of fire to the bush to destroy trees.

He said there were some of the risks that could fight against their success and advised them to create farm belts along the water bodies to protect the trees against bush fires during dry season.

Mr.Aaron Bundi Adwina, Chief Basin Officer of Water Resource Commission said with the decline of many aquatic ecosystems due to agricultural production, Riparian buffers had become common conservation practice aimed at increasing water quality and reducing pollution.

He said a riparian buffer is a vegetated area near a stream usually forested that helps provide shade and partially protect a stream from the impact of adjacent land uses.
He said it played key roles in increasing water quality in associated streams, rivers and provided environmental benefits.

Mr Robert Tumjagewor Atawura Project Coordinator of Tree Aid appealed to the Chiefs of the beneficiary communities to take action against people who destroy the trees along the water bodies and reminded them that the trees were their own property that should be protected to get water all years round.