The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles has appointed the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori-Panin as a member of the Advisory Council to the Prince's Rainforest Project (PRP).

In a letter signed by Jack Gibb, Project Director of the PRP inviting Osagyefuo to join the Council, he expressed the Prince’s intention to have an “exceptional group of highly influential individuals from the African rainforest countries” as well as senior political officials and prominent members of the business community on the Africa Advisory Council.

The Okyenhene, who is renowned for his passionate advocacy against deforestation and environmental degradation in Ghana, accepted the Prince’s invitation wholeheartedly and expressed optimism that the PRP is exactly what Africa and the rest of the world need to combat global warming.

A statement issued from the office of the Okyenhene in Accra on Monday and signed by the Senior Projects Co-ordinator, Ms Angela Dadson, said the Council draws members from various backgrounds in different countries including DR Congo's Ambassador to South Africa, appointee of the government of Sierra Leone, among other prominent and influential personalities.

Osagyefuo left Accra for Johannesburg, South Africa over the weekend to attend the first meeting of the Council, which started yesterday and is being hosted by Tom Boardman, CEO of Nedbank and Chairman of the PRP Africa Advisory Council.

The PRP is backed by 13 major companies made up of Shell, Rio Tinto Zinc, McDonald’s, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Sun Media, Sky, Deutsche Bank, Man Group, KPMG, Barclays Bank, Finsbury and the European Climate Exchange.

The PRP was set up in October 2007 by Prince Charles to find practical solutions to slow tropical deforestation and combat climate change.

Its main aim is to help the world community recognize the true value of forests by identifying ways to value and then pay for the crucial “ecosystem services” that rainforests provide.

The PRP is engaging rainforest nations, governments, businesses and non-governmental organizations to find solutions to deforestation.

Source: Daily Guide