DENR lauds EDC reforestation manual

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has lauded the Energy Development Corp. (EDC) for coming up with a reference manual on forest restoration, saying it could be a useful tool for the reforestation projects of the government including the National Greening Program (NGP).

The three-part module titled “A Field Manual on Forest Restoration Using Indigenous Species” provides the technical procedures in implementing forest restoration projects from site-species matching, production of planting materials, plantation establishment, maintenance and protection.

“Through the reforestation manual, we hope that more people in our partner agencies will learn new and innovative approaches on planting trees that will continue the NGP’s success,” DENR Secretary Ramon Paje said.

NGP, which is mainly implemented by the DENR, is the flagship reforestation program of the Aquino administration that seeks to cover 1.5 million hectares with trees by the end of 2016.

However, President Aquino issued in November last year Executive Order No. 193 creating the expanded NGP that aims to reforest “all remaining unproductive, denuded and degraded forestlands” by 2028.

 “The manual is not only relevant but also timely in the light of President Aquino’s directive to extend the implementation of the National Greening Program beyond 2016 to cover all the remaining degraded areas of the country,” Paje added.

EDC, the largest producer of geothermal energy in the country, has been a partner of the DENR since 2011 in the implementation of the company’s own reforestation program called BINHI.