Greening program gains headway

THE National Greening Program (NGP) of President Benigno Aquino III implemented by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is gaining headway in Zamboanga Peninsula.

DENR Zamboanga Peninsula Director Arleigh Adorable said a total of 5.8 million trees have been planted in 11,032.9 hectares of land for the past two years in the region.

Around 2,402,000 trees -- forest and fruit -- of the 5,845,294 were planted in 4,804 hectares of land in 2011, he added.

The remaining 3,443,294 of the 5,845,294 trees were planted in 6,228.90 hectares in 2012, which were higher in terms of the number of trees and areas planted compared to that in the previous year, Adorable said.

He also said that they target to triple the number of trees and the areas to be planted for this year, citing the DENR aims to plant 11,698,550 in 20,996 hectares of land.

The environment official is optimistic they can meet this year’s target with the establishment of the Regional Clonal Nursery and Ecological Research and Training Center (RCNERTC), which will serve as additional source of quality seedlings to boost the NGP in the region.

He said 50,000 of the 11,698,550 trees they envisioned to plant this year can already be sourced from the RCNERTC.

The facility will be able to supply 80,000 quality seedlings per annum for the NGP once it is fully operational, he added.

The RCNERTC has more or less 12.3 hectares within Bacla-Pulacan Reforestation Project located in Labangang, Zamboanga del Sur. It serves as the regional center for the production, storage and disposition of quality planting materials and indigenous and premium forest trees and economically important non-timber forest species.

The facility would also serve as avenue for training, conferences and symposia of the DENR and its clients, Adorable said. (Bong Garcia)