About us

Greening Northern Ghana (GNG) is a voluntary non-profit, non-political non-ethnic, non-racial and non-religious organisation. Its goal is to reforest Northern Ghana by planting a tree to represent every Ghanaian in five years. Therefore 28 million economic, fast-growing and drought-resistant trees and grasses will be planted in selected areas in the five northern regions of Ghana. This initiative is being led by a group of Ghanaians interested in reforestation of the north. By greening northern Ghana, it is our expectation that we will stop desertification and improve/enhance livelihoods in the region, as trees and grasses provide windbreaks, food and shelter.

GNG will take advantage of provisions already made for infrastructure and human resource, including the government’s One Village, One Dam policy; the Northern Development  Authority (NDA); the National Climate Change and Green Economy Strategy; and the government’s reforestation programme, for which the youth are being mobilised and quotas prepared for the deployment of personnel to the Districts.

To obtain buy-in from the beneficiary communities so that meaningful change can occur, and to forestall resistance, resentment and rebellion, these goals are being pursued through a bottom-up, rather than a top-down approach. Therefore, local communities are involved in the project from its planning stage to its implementation, and all will be encouraged/persuaded through the media, public forums, personal contact and other forms of outreach to get actively involved, whether by offering technical support, or by planting trees in plantations, every home/school/office or in fenced orchards.

The extensive nature of this project requires enormous resources—human, material and financial. GNG has endeavoured to make the project cost and labour effective by drawing on local knowledge, skills and resources, and is seeking to supplement these efforts with support from businesses, the government and international interests. The youth in the target regions constitute a major part of the workforce. Land is accessed from local communities and seeds/seedlings from the Forestry Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NGOs such as Greencare Ghana Ltd. and individual volunteers who have pledged their support for our cause. Earlier greening efforts in the three regions, such as the A.A. Ampofo, the Abotiyuure and other initiatives elsewhere, demonstrate that success can be achieved in reforesting the region, and these examples are important points of reference for GNG.

GNG has membership from a wide range of backgrounds and expertise in areas including forestry, agriculture, the Fire Service, banking and finance, health, engineering, ICT, environmental protection, law, local government and education/academia. GNG draws on this wealth of expertise to efficiently execute its projects and programmes.