Over 72, 000 trees of varied species have been planted under the ‘Keep Kumasi Clean and Green (KKCG)’ project since its inception three years ago, Mr Osei Assibey-Antwi, the Mayor of Kumasi, has disclosed.

The trees, made up of teak, cassia, sapida, royal palm, coconut, mahogany, willow, emire and eucalyptus species, were planted to help clean the environment by absorbing most of the harmful gases in the atmosphere.

The Mayor said the objective was to improve the vegetation cover to mitigate the harmful effects of global warming triggered by depletion of the ozone layer.

Mr Assibey-Antwi, who was addressing a meeting of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) at the Prempeh Assembly Hall, said the authorities were determined to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in the metropolis.

The KKCG Project, he said, also formed part of measures to improve wetlands in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city, while creating buffer zones to enhance the quality of life and wellbeing of the people.

He said as part of the Project, over 1,500 waste bins were installed in the metropolis to control indiscriminate littering of the streets and public spaces.

Mr Assibey-Antwi indicated that environmental-sanitation remained a priority in the development agenda of the KMA.

Therefore, the assembly would continue to work with stakeholders to realize its objectives, especially in the area of integrating climate change measures into the Assembly’s policies, strategies and planning.

They would also improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.