Cement firm plants trees to bring back lost forest

CEBU, Philippines - To offset its carbon footprints, Apo Cement Corporation, which has been mining the mountains of the Naga City for limestone for several years now, has started rehabilitating mined areas by planting trees on them.

Jenevey Patalinghug, Apo Cemex's Environment, Safety and Heath officer, together with some officials from the firm and representatives from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 took the media for a tour of its mining site which sits between the upland barangays of Tinaan and Inoburan.

Presently, the firm is mining 175 hectares of this area for limestone, a raw material for cement.

Apo has been doing this since 1921 and over the years, a big portion of the affected mountains has almost been leveled to the ground and as can be seen from above, there is almost no vegetation in that wide expanse of the mountain.

This does not look good especially to environmentalists, but Patalinghug said their company has been compensating this by planting trees in almost every available space within its vicinity.

Now Apo has a 15-year-old man-made forest of grown Narra trees occupying the 1.8-hectare site which used to be bald and white after being mined.

This area is one of the many pocket forests of the firm, which were designed as part of its goal to try to bring back the mountain's old state before they mined it, said Patalinghug.

The plant also has its own man-made lagoon where a variety of fishes are thriving in recycled waste water.

"Generally, responsible mining is not only through social development but this also means taking care of the environment before, during, and even after its operation," she said.

Meanwhile, in spite of the presence of two kilns and the use of old tire as alternative fuel, Patalinghug said the air they breathe is still safe.

She said they regularly check the toxicity level of the air emitted from these kilns.

This is apart from the annual test conducted by the concerned authorities, she added.

For the last three years, Apo has been using old tires, making up 30 percent of its alternative fuel.

Coal still dominates in this department, but Patalinghug said in the next few years they hope to use other alternative fuel like solid waste as it is eco-friendly and cheap.

The burning of old tires, which by law is illegal, is actually approved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, she said.

The smoke emitted from this process is not toxic, she said.