A TOTAL of 225 million assorted tree seedlings under the National Greening Program (NGP) are ready to be transplanted when the rainy season sets in next month.
Director Ricardo Calderon of the Forest Management Bureau said that 300,000 hectares will be covered by the massive tree-planting activities in various parts of the country this year.
Around 39 percent, or 87.75 million of the tree-seedlings, mostly high-value crops, such as coffee, cacao and rubber, are scheduled to be planted in Mindanao.
Approximately, the same number of trees will be planted in Luzon, while around 22 percent, or 49.5 million trees, will be planted in the Visayas.
In addition, the Visayas was allocated P1 billion for the rehabilitation of beach and mangrove forests.
“Our production of planting materials is continuous, and we have sufficient planting materials to achieve our annual target,” said Calderon, who is also the national coordinator of the NGP.
Calderon said most of the NGP sites have been prepared by different Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Offices.
The NGP, President Aquino’s flagship reforestation program, aims to plant 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares of open, degraded and denuded forests. As of December 2014, the DENR has covered 1.005 hectares, exceeding its combined three-year target.
Meanwhile, Calderon said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is expected to approve soon of the P2.8-billion supplemental budget for the NGP.
Congress-approved supplemental budget, he said, will further boost the massive tree-planting program, which aims to increase the country’s forest cover by 12 percent by 2016. The DENR has partnered with 28 state universities and colleges for the massive production of clonal tree seedlings for the NGP. It is also in the process of putting up five mechanized tree nurseries.
“The mechanized seeders are now being inspected by the PITC [Philippine International Trading Corp.]. This mechanized seeding will increase our annual production of planting materials,” he said.
Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje had earlier expressed confidence in overshooting the NGP’s five-year target, noting that the government is getting overwhelming support from various stakeholders.