By Rhodina Villanueva (The
Philippine Star) | Updated June 17, 2016 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Department
of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has lauded the Energy Development
Corp. (EDC) for coming up with a reference manual on forest restoration, saying
it could be a useful tool for the reforestation projects of the government
including the National Greening Program (NGP).
The three-part module titled “A
Field Manual on Forest Restoration Using Indigenous Species” provides the
technical procedures in implementing forest restoration projects from
site-species matching, production of planting materials, plantation
establishment, maintenance and protection.
“Through the reforestation manual,
we hope that more people in our partner agencies will learn new and innovative
approaches on planting trees that will continue the NGP’s success,” DENR
Secretary Ramon Paje said.
NGP, which is mainly implemented by
the DENR, is the flagship reforestation program of the Aquino administration
that seeks to cover 1.5 million hectares with trees by the end of 2016.
However, President Aquino issued in
November last year Executive Order No. 193 creating the expanded NGP that aims
to reforest “all remaining unproductive, denuded and degraded forestlands” by
2028.
“The manual is not only
relevant but also timely in the light of President Aquino’s directive to extend
the implementation of the National Greening Program beyond 2016 to cover all
the remaining degraded areas of the country,” Paje added.
EDC, the largest producer of
geothermal energy in the country, has been a partner of the DENR since 2011 in
the implementation of the company’s own reforestation program called BINHI.
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