DENR eyes 2.7 million trees to be planted in Central Luzon

MARIA AURORA, Aurora, June 25, 2011-At least 2.7 million tree species here in Central Luzon as its share in the National Greening Program of the Aquino administration in his home region is planning to plant by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) says Sofio Quintana, regional technical director for forestry of the DENR.

“Our office targeted 2,773,500 tree seedlings to be planted in 5,437 hectares in the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales and in this province,” Quintana said Friday.

Quintana, along with Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo and other local DENR officials led the kick-off ceremony for the NGP scheme in Aurora at sitio Canili, Barangay San Juan here.

A total of 1,000 trees were planted in the site which form part of the 484 hectares of areas targeted for planting in the province for this year says DENR provincial environment and natural resources officer Benjamin Mina.

Mina furthered that of the 484 hectares, 310 hectares are situated in protected areas, 120 hectares in reforestation areas, 50 hectares in community-based forest management areas and four hectares in urban parks.

Back to Quintana, he said that they are putting up agro-forest trees protected areas, forestlands, mangroves, ancestral domains, civil and military reservations, river banks and stream banks and urban areas which are the designated NGP areas under Executive Order 26 issued last February 24 by President Aquino establishing the NGP as a national priority aimed at reforesting 1.5 million hectares of lands by planting 1.5 billion trees for the next six years, or an average of 250 million seedlings per year involving 250,000 hectares annually.

“This project also aims to address global warming and climate change which also promote environmental awareness,” he ended. (Jason de Asis)