Hidalgo: Giving new life to our native trees

THE Energy Development Corporation (EDC) fully committed in its efforts to rescue endemic Philippine trees that are on the brink of extinction.

Widespread logging, the indiscriminate conversion of primary forests into commercial plantations, housing developments, infrastructure projects, and the steady onset of climate change have contributed to the loss of endemic trees.

In a bid to prevent the enedemic trees from going extinct, the EDC has the Binhi (seed) program. Binhi anchors itself on the belief that for businesses to thrive, it needs to sustain and accelerate efforts to decarbonize our future environment.

The first and most extensive corporate-led reforestation program will be focused entirely on native trees. Close to 100 threatened tree species were prioritized for the search and rescue program. The seeds can be found in the remaining patches of forests. One of these is the Bagoadlay, the hardest and densest of all local ironwoods. It is a sight to behold during full bloom with its attractive yellow flowers.

Through the Binhi program, EDC will be partnering with different academic and government institutions, which will help them determine where to plant the endemic species. The Binhi team comes in by providing technical support and expertise in growing these species.

To further bolster the campaign, EDC entered a partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Biodiversity Management Bureau in 2016 under the agency's "Adopt-a-Wildlife Species Pragram." This allows it to contribute to the national biodiversity conservation program. This will update the Philppine Red List of threatened tree species and the protection of the identified trees in surveyed areas. All these will assure us of the completion of the project and its maintenance.

The EDC's inventory and geotagging are submitted to the DENR and all scientific journals as a valuable contribution to the scientific community. The Binhi program is entering its second decade. EDC has committed to restoring the forests to ensure that future generations in the Philippines will still see these endemic trees.

Trending

No stories found.

Just in

No stories found.

Branded Content

No stories found.
SunStar Publishing Inc.
www.sunstar.com.ph