The Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), in collaboration with Globe Group, launches its initiative to plant three million trees.
Dennis I. Salvador, executive director of PEF, said on Friday morning, March 8, 2024, at the Philippine Eagle Center (PEC) that the Planting for the Future 3 Million Trees program supports the foundation's main advocacy, conserving the critically endangered Philippine Eagle.
“Specifically the Philippine Eagle Foundation aims to raise funds that will enable us to plant 3 million trees which will be planted in key nine areas close to eagle nesting habitats. This is vital work to address the continuing deforestation in the country,” he said.
Salvador told the media that the tree-planting initiative aims to reforest around 1,200 hectares around the nesting sites of eagles. Unlike any other tree-planting initiative, Planting for the Future offers transparency. People who donate can monitor their trees through the comprehensive database and tracking system, which is accessible to funders.
“As you probably noted in other reforestation projects hindi alam ng donor kung anong nangyari sa binigay nilang pera, anong nangyari sa punong tinanim and to avoid we set up a precedence klaro sa donor or sort of investor na ang itinanim nila grows to maturity (As you probably noted in other reforestation projects donors do not know what happened to the money they have donated, what happened to the tree planted and to avoid that we set up a precedence that is clear for the donor or sort of investor that what they planted will grow to maturity),” he said.
Jayson Ibañez, PEF’s director of operations, expressed that they plan to run the program for three years. Apart from helping reforest Philippine Eagle nesting sites, it could also help the indigenous communities (ICs) by compensating the services they offer, such as collecting wildlings from the forest, preparing the soil, planting the seedlings, tagging the trees, and watering seedlings. The program is set to provide at least 150 jobs for the foundation’s partner communities.
“So we foresee that this would generate supplemental income, and that’s very important because we are bringing money to the communities, and we all know that this money could also help any members of the communities,” he said.
Some of the indigenous communities that they would help in their program are Bagobo Tagabawa, Bagabo Klata, Obu Manuvu, Ita, and others situated near Philippine Eagle nesting sites.
Meanwhile, the 3 million trees will be planted in the ancestral domains of Davao City, Arakan, Bukidnon, San Fernando, Malaybalay, Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur, and Makilala in Cotabato.
Adopting a tree costs about P250, and those interested may utilize Paypal, Gcash, and the Globeone app. Globe users may convert their globe rewards points into donations through the app, and a reward point is equivalent to P1. They can just access the app and click the “Rewards” banner, then look for the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) under the “Donations” tab. For GCash donations, visit https://www.philippineeaglefoundation.org/donate-capital-campaign and scan the QR Code using the GCash app.
Also, donors can even leave a message if they want to adopt a specific type of tree or plant it in a particular area.
Ibañez shared that once the 3 million trees are adopted, they will expand to other Philippine Eagle Nesting Sites. RGP