BY: BY JENNIFER C. TILOS
DUMAGUETE CITY, April 16 (PIA) -- Under the National Greening Program (NGP), Negros Oriental has targeted 42,000 hectares or 50 percent of Central Visayas’ total target of 85,000 hectares to be planted with trees until 2016.
According to RED Isabelo Montejo of Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 (DENR7) of the total target, DENR- Negros Oriental has already covered 18,000 hectares and another 10,000 this year.
In a consultative meeting with stakeholders in Negros Oriental held recently, Dir. Montejo said 53 percent of this year’s P1.41 billion budget in region 7 is allocated to the NGP.
To boost the NGP, the DENR has allocated P80 million for the ongoing construction of the first mechanized nursery facility in Ayungon town, Negros Oriental.
The highly mechanized nursery intends to target 40 million seedling capacity in a 10-hectare area in the province and cited as a model site of NGP as its people’s organizations also earn its livelihood under the NGP.
PENRO Charlie Fabre said the nursery will produce high quality forest tree seedlings which include indigenous tree species, fruit bearing trees such as coffee and cacao for planting materials.
By virtue of Executive Order No. 26, signed by His Excellency Benigno Aquino III, a massive forest rehabilitation program for the country has been implemented under the NGP.
NGP aims to reforest 1.5 million hectares of denuded land in the country by planting 1.5 billion trees in five years.
Overall objectives of the National Greening Program are poverty reduction, food security, biodiversity conservation, and environment mitigation.
About 100 local government units, non-government organizations, civil society organizations and other stakeholders participated in a consultative meeting and presentation of DENR’s 2015 budget proposal for Negros Oriental.
The activity is anchored on the DBM’s policy guidelines and procedure in the implementation of Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB) for the FY 2015 budget preparation.
The PENRO informed that the results of the consultation shall be submitted to the regional office as inputs for the Regional Development Council (RDC) meeting. (mbcn/JCT/PIA7-Negros Oriental)