DENR allots 1,000 Philippine indigenous woods to Feed

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), has endorsed 1000 Philippine indigenous woods seedling species to Feed Inc. to boost the “Living Legacy: Plant a Tree, Feed Our Future” program launched by Feed Inc. in collaboration with UP Los Baños (UPLB) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The collabaoration was made through a triparty memorandum of Understanding, which aims to reforest and restore sustainable livelihoods and agricultural and forestry productivity on 8,800 hectares in the Laguna-Quezon Land Grant Development Project site.

Dr. Neria Andin, DENR-NCR regional director, came to know about Feed Inc. through the support of Sen. Loren Legarda and legislative officer Mars Flores, who suggested that Feed speak to the DENR in lieu of NGP, which covers tree-planting activities on about 1.5 million hectares by 2016.

Since the NGP was launched in 2011, the DENR has planted seedlings on more than 232,000 hectares all over the country, helping to restore the livelihoods of communities all over the Philippines.

Because of the perfect score garnered by the Philippine administration’s twin forest policies, the Philippines also improved by eight notches to No. 42 among 132 countries on the international Environmental Performance Index (EPI), an evaluation of the sustainability of nations’ environmental programs and policies by Yale University, Columbia University, the World Economic Forum and the Joint Research Center of the European Commission.

The Philippines outranked countries like South Korea (43rd), Australia (48th), United States (49th), Singapore (52nd) and Israel (61st).

Sen. Legarda is an advocate of “quality human living harmonious with nature by seeking the path for green growth and sustainable development…” As a public servant and journalist, she also devotes her work to ensuring that “future generations of Filipinos will live in enabling environments where our natural resources are used in ways that are sustainable and equitable; where social justice, human rights, peace and cultural diversity are priorities; and where opportunities for quality education and decent employment to all hard-working citizens free them from poverty.”

For information on the “Living the Legacy: Plant a Tree, Feed Our Future” e-mail info@feed.org.ph. Or call, Anne-Marie Bakker at 0917-552-4722