DENR allots 21,000-hectare open lands for tree planting

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is allocating 21,000 hectares of open lands within the country’s watershed areas for planting of fruit-bearing trees and high value crops.

Environment Secretary Jose L. Atienza signed recently memorandum circular 2009-03 segregating 40 percent of 52,425 hectares, covered by the DENR’s Upland Development Program (UDP), for agroforestry.

The DENR is also setting aside 31,455 hectares for purely reforestation activities within the country’s watershed and mangrove areas.

 “The distribution of resources and development targets under UDP shall, as much as possible and as appropriate at the watershed landscape level, be 40 percent for agroforestry development of upland farms,” said Atienza.

The DENR order details how the UDP will be implemented using entrepreneurship and forest conservation.

A total of 52,425 upland farmers, each representing one family, will benefit under the UDP program with each farmer getting a hectare to develop.

The UDP is one of two components of DENR’s emergency employment efforts under President Arroyo’s “green collar jobs” program.

The other is the Bantay-Gubat Project where 59,111 qualified members of upland communities will be hired as short-term forest guards to keep watch against forest fires and illegal logging activities.

Under UDP’s reforestation component, Atienza allocated 20,970 hectares for the reforestation of watershed areas and another 10,485 hectares for the rehabilitation of mangrove areas, re-vegetation of stream banks with bamboos, and enrichment planting of wildlings inside protected areas.

Some 21.5 million seedlings are expected to be planted during the program.

Likewise, high-quality-grafted planting stocks taken from superior trees will be used including quality propagated planting stocks of fruit trees and seeds for short-term agricultural crops.