80T hectares in CV planted with trees

Central Visayas contributes to over 80,000 hectares to the nationwide reforestation initiative or the National Greening Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

DENR-7 spokesperson Dr. Eddie Llamedo reported that at least 80,747.06 hectares of public lands in four provinces - Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Negros Oriental - have been planted with trees in five years since the project started in 2011.

The lot coverage of the four provinces is part of the 1.3 million hectares of NGP sites nationwide that has been reforested.

"Of the number (80,747.06 hectares), at least 29,408.63 hectares have been reforested in Cebu; Bohol with 16,213.54 hectares; Negros Oriental with 33,951.53 hectares; and Siquijor with 1,173.36 hectares," Llamedo said.

The massive forest rehabilitation program seeks to plant 1.5 billion seedlings in 1.5 million hectares of public lands nationwide within six years, from 2011 to June 2016.

Since it started in 2011 until December 2015, Llamedo said some 1,351,803 hectares of the NGP sites nationwide have been planted with trees; the recent figure comprises 90.12 percent of the 1.5-million hectare target.

The number of trees planted, however, has not yet been accounted.

To be able to get accurate count of trees planted and their conditions, DENR invested in resources to purchase geo- tagging equipment and train forestry personnel on the use of the technology that utilizes GPS and web-based mapping to allow real-time monitoring of NGP locations.

Llamedo said geo-tag- ging will also help in monitoring seedling growth and mortalities for replacement with new seedlings in NGP sites.

Further, the program has generated jobs for manpower counting to at least 227,923 individuals employed as of December 2015.

The program, Llamedo said, is designed to reduce poverty by providing alternative livelihood activities for the marginalized upland and lowland households.

The personnel hired handle the seedling production and care and maintenance of newly-planted trees, and other activities necessary for managing the reforested areas.

Aside from providing additional source of income for the marginalized, Llamedo added NGP is also seen as a climate change mitigation strategy seeking to enhance the country's forest stock.

"…at least 1,614,941.20 tons of carbon dioxide is projected to be absorbed by the various plantations annually," he said, noting that carbon dioxide is the harmful gas that is "largely blamed for global warming."

Moreover, the program is sought to promote biodiversity conservation through the rehabilitation of the country's forests, which serves as natural habitat for various species of plants and animals.

"DENR data show that about 20 million hectares or two-thirds of the country's total land area of 30 million hectares, are hilly and mountainous, making these areas vulnerable to soil erosion whose direct impacts and side-effects include low crop productivity, reduction of the capacity of water conveyance structures, destruction of wildlife habitat, and destruction of standing crops," Llamedo said.

NGP is one of the government priority programs formally established by virtue of Executive Order 26 issued on February 2011 by President Benigno Aquino III "to reduce poverty, promote food security, environmental stability and biodiversity conservation, and enhance climate change mitigation and adaptation."

Miasco/JMO