CEBU CITY, January 30 (PIA) --- With a budget of more than
P404 million for the National Greening Program (NGP) this year, Department
of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) is ready to kick off its NGP implementation in Central
Visayas after a successful completion in 2014.
DENR-7 regional executive director Dr. Isabelo Montejo
said the allocation will be used to establish more plantations in the
region maintaining existing plantations and acquiring firefighting equipment in
cases of forest fires for forest protection.
Based on the forest management services (FMS) data, DENR-7 is set
to produce over 11.5 million indigenous or native tree seedlings of various
species to cover about 15T plus hectares of identified NGP areas in the four
provinces of the region this year, bared Dr. Eddie Llamedo, head of the
Regional Public Information Office of DENR-7.
Meanwhile, Montejo stressed, “Our target for this year is 2,800
hectares lesser than that of last year since we have more maintenance and
protection efforts to execute to ensure the safety and good growth of the
existing plantations especially those which were established since 2011.”
Of the total target, Cebu Province will produce 2,772,000
seedlings to cover 4, 414 hectares: Bohol Province with 2,535,400 seedling
production target for 3,033 hectares; Negros Oriental with the largest target
of 6,153,600 seedlings for 7,489 hectares; and Siquijor Province with 96,500
seedlings to reforest 185 hectares of NGP area in the province, Llamedo said.
He added, the NGP aims to reforest some 1.5 million hectares of
degraded forest lands in the country and to essentially develop a sustainable
forest resource base to accelerate the national greening campaign to address
poverty alleviation and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Llamedo announced, “On its fifth year now and as we get nearer to
its completion in 2016, we will continue to do our best to contribute to our
national target and deliver its objectives for the success and milestone of the
first ever and largest re-greening program in the Philippine history.”
DENR 7 has reported a 113 percent accomplishment in NGP in 2014.
In a consolidated report, Region 7 was able to produce a total of 15,967,171
seedlings which reforested around 20, 296.97 hectares in Central Visayas, said
Llamedo. (mbcn/jsme/PIA7-Cebu/DENR7)