THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said 230 bamboo seedlings were planted recently along Bamban River.

This tree planting project is in line with the agency's reforestation and Manila Bay rehabilitation efforts in Tarlac.

Celia Esteban, provincial chief of the DENR office in Tarlac, reported that the 3,600-square meter portion of the Bamban River located in Barangay Lourdes of the said town were planted with Chinese bamboo, scientific Dracaena sanderiana.

Esteban added that the DENR office in Tarlac regularly conducts cleanup activities in collaboration with partner agencies and the 40 estero rangers deployed in the area who collect an average of about 14,500 kilos of waste daily.

Paquito Moreno, Jr., executive director of the DENR in Central Luzon, said planting bamboos is a crucial component in rehabilitating denuded forest areas, facilitating rapid recovery of river easements and stabilizing river banks, particularly in Manila Bay areas in Bataan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac.

Since the Manila Bay cleanup and rehabilitation program started in 2019, the DENR here has planted more than 141,000 kilometer-stretch of river systems with 38,390 bamboos.

This year, over 140,000 tons of wastes have been collected from 15,000 cleanup activities conducted in Manila Bay areas in Region 3.