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Thursday, August 18, 2005
Tree nursery helps upland dwellers
LEBAK, Sultan Kudarat -- This municipality is showing how self-reliance can reap dividends. Faced with the challenge of implementing their forest management program, the local government of Lebak decided to jumpstart the process by establishing a tree nursery right at the Municipal Hall grounds.
With no less than the town mayor making sure it is properly tended, the nursery is now producing healthy seedlings of tree species that are best suited to local conditions. Formal distribution was launched with an initial batch of tree seedlings and coconuts awarded to 24 beneficiary families in simple ceremonies in Barangay Ragandang last August 11.
The families are occupying 10 hectares of forestland in the uplands of Lebak, within a recently declared co-management area. Under the Forest Land Use Plan (Flup) finalized by the municipality with assistance from the US Agency for International Development (Usaid)-funded Philippine Environmental Governance (EcoGov) Project, the land will be co-managed and developed by the local government unit and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) with the active participation of the actual occupants. The Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (Menro) spearheads the activity.
The seedling distribution program will benefit a total of 300 families occupying 100 hectares of land needing immediate rehabilitation. Technical inputs and support for preparing the communities is being provided by the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC), with EcoGov assistance.
The project illustrates the firm commitment of Lebak, led by Mayor Gerardo S. Delasan, to protect and sustain its forest resources that have been threatened by decades of commercial logging and shifting cultivation. The municipality is one of the first local government units (LGUs) in Mindanao to seriously pursue priority activities defined in the Flup.
Constrained by meager resources, Lebak turned to multisectoral support for help in implementing their plans. They are now working closely with the DENR; the academe through the Sultan Kudarat State Polytechnic College for more technical assistance; and the religious sector through the MBRLC. (PR)
(August 18, 2005 issue)
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