President Mahama plans to ban the use of wood for school furniture in Ghana

President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to issue a directive banning the use of wood for school furniture across Ghana as part of intensified efforts to curb deforestation and promote sustainable environmental practices.

Speaking at the launch of the “One Child, One Tree“ initiative at the Atomic Cluster of Schools at Kwabenya to mark World Environment Day 2025, the president emphasised the contradiction of planting trees while simultaneously cutting them down for furniture.

“We can’t be planting trees and cutting them down at the same time. To reduce the cutting of trees, I intend to issue a directive to stop the use of wood for school furniture,” he stated.

According to him, school desks and chairs will soon be made from recycled plastic or metal, instead of wood, signaling a significant policy shift toward environmentally friendly materials.

Beyond tree planting, President Mahama stressed the need to address broader environmental issues, particularly the destructive impact of illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) on Ghana’s forests and water bodies.

“As I speak, 300 excavators have been seized from illegal miners,” he said, disclosing that nine forest reserves were previously classified as “no-go zones” due to heavily-armed illegal miners.

But he said thanks to joint operations by the military, police, and relevant ministries, eight of those red-zone forest reserves have now been reclaimed, with efforts underway to liberate the final reserve and restore all 44 forest reserves currently under threat.

President Mahama noted that Ghana has a total of 288 forest reserves, and urgent action is needed to protect them since many of the country’s rivers originate from forested areas.

“If we destroy our forests, our rivers will also dry up. This fight is very important so we can hand over a healthy environment to our children and generations yet unborn,” he added.

He also commended the strong collaboration between the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, and the security services for the progress made in fighting illegal mining.

The “One Child, One Tree” programme, led by MESTI and launched on World Environment Day, aims to encourage children across Ghana to plant and care for trees, fostering a culture of environmental responsibility from a young age.

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