Dumaguete continues Urban Forestry Management, Development program

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — The city government has continued its 10-year-old tree planting program to address the alarming degradation of forest resources and the problem on sustainability of the city’s aquifer or groundwater resources.

Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria, recalling the recent destruction of typhoon Sendong on the city and the province, said that an imbalanced ecosystem would cause global warming and climate change resulting in disasters. “The remedy of this is to put our hands together and do our part. We must return the forest cover ... plant more trees ... let them grow and we can experience normal climate every season,” he said.

The program called Urban Forestry Management and Development (UFMD), implemented by the Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO), has started in 2002 with the city government allocating a yearly budget to carry out its component activities.

With tree planting as the focal point of the program since it started 10 years ago, the city’s forest cover rose from 18 percent in 2001 to 28 percent in 2009. Under the current administration of Sagarbarria, through his two years in office, the forest cover further increased to 30 percent, equal to 1,100 hectares planted with trees.

The UFMD in 2011 has caused the planting of more than 3,000 forest tree seedlings in different barangays of the city with the help of volunteers from private institutions, non-government organizations, government agencies, private residences, students organizations, peoples organizations and religious sector.   

Sagarbarria has been regulating the cutting of trees also, like last year when he rejected requests from some people to fell some century-old acacia trees in the city. “Please always save trees. We are under global warming and climate change, only trees can address this world-wide problem, we must be part of solution,” he told them.

Arestio Encabo, UFMD coordinator of the ENRO, said planting of more trees is direly needed to achieve sustainable water supply and healthful environment and that the program has been aimed at improving city’s environment for an increase in water yield, absorption of toxic gases, improve windbreaks and indirectly reduce pressures on the natural resources extraction.

Encabo added that the city government could not do the advocacy by itself so he appealed to the public to cooperate and participate in the UFMD implementation. - THE FREEMAN