Globe, CCT set up seedling nurseries in the Cordilleras

MANILA, Philippines - Telecommunications company Globe Telecom through its corporate arm Globe Business, together with the Cordillera Conservation Trust (CCT), will establish 100 seedling nurseries in the Cordillera mountain range by yearend to help rehabilitate the forests which have suffered from prolonged environmental destruction.

So far, Globe and CCT have put up 55 seedling nurseries since the project was launched in 2012 even as they plan to add 45 more this year.  Funding for the nurseries will come from the P1.8 million expected to be generated from registration fees of bikers who will participate in the Globe Cordillera Challenge 5 on May 10 as well as from donations of Globe employees and concerned individuals.

“It takes time to resuscitate the mountains but we’re taking it one step at a time.  We are excited to create more on site production areas for forest building as well as expand our forest building practices to the youth and the community. For Globe Business, supporting the environment is an integral part of doing business, that is why we continue to invest in its protection and preservation,” said Nikko Acosta, Globe SVP for Enterprise Group.

CCT, which is Globe Telecom’s partner-beneficiary for the biking event, also operates the Roots & Shoots program to produce seedlings for tree planting purposes.  Reforestation of the Cordilleras currently faces several challenges such as the lack of water-efficient trees and the huge cost of buying and hauling saplings to remote areas.

However, more than supplying seedlings, the Roots & Shoots program has become exploration areas for nature learning as it extends to the communities involved in the construction and maintenance of each nursery.

“Value change is a side effect of the Roots & Shoots nursery program which we would like to bring to the forefront in the next years. Changing values for nature in the young is of utmost importance if we are to make any of this work sustainable. We have to start learning to deal more with people rather than simply forests and the environment and see communities as an integral part of the system in which ecosystems are built,” said JP Alipio, executive director of CCT.

From the initial 21 seedling nurseries in 2012, Roots & Shoots added 34 more in 2013 which were located in some of the most remote schools in the Cordillera region, surrounding ecological areas around Mt. Pulag, Mt. Amuyao and Mt. Ugo. 

The Cordillera mountain range is currently in a critical state as rampant deforestation massively reduced the forest cover to about 42 percent. This increased the local communities’ vulnerability to disasters and also reduced their capacity to sustain livelihood. The situation prompted Globe to come up with the Globe Cordillera Challenge five years ago to raise much-needed funds for reforestation activities.

Globe Cordillera Challenge 5 is being supported by Global Criterion Solutions, Holcim Philippines, Spyder Philippines, Berghaus Limited, Nonpareil International Freight Cargo Services, Inc., Messy Bessy, Cordillera Coffee, Cordillera Heirloom Coffee and Canto Restaurant.