BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera stands to lose its green cover if stakeholders are not actively involved in the uphill climb of the Regional Development Council (RDC) to preserve and protect the remaining forest cover.

Originally, 85 percent of the region’s over 2.8 million hectares of land was classified as forest cover while the remaining 15 percent was classified as agricultural lands or alienable and disposable lands for the benefit of qualified residents.

However, due to the increase of population brought about by the lucrative agriculture industry, the forested areas have drastically dwindled over the past several decades until such time that the forested areas have become minimal due to rapid in-migration.

Clarence Baguilat, regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Cordillera, pointed out the need for local government units, host communities, non-government agencies and other concerned stakeholders to actively help in the rehabilitation of the denuded areas for the benefit of the present and future generations of Filipinos.

Aside from preserving and protecting the remaining forest cover, the DENR-CAR official asserted the importance of a consolidated effort among local residents and tourists to instigate a watershed revolution aimed at empowering people to be involved in the uphill effort to bring back the greenery of the region’s forests.

In line with the agency’s continuing effort to protect the environment, the DENR has embarked on a massive advocacy of proactive and people-oriented reforestation through a relentless tree planting activities for the succeeding months not only to plant forest trees but also fruit trees every rainy season to ensure that the greenery of the region’s barren mountains will be restored in the next several years.

Baguilat claimed that aside from giving the people in the host communities economic benefits, the massive reforestation effort will also translate to mitigating the serious negative effects of climate change and preserve the environment, air quality and increased water resources for the future generation of Filipinos.

Apart from planting assorted tree species and fruit-bearing trees, the DENR has mandated all individuals and groups actively involved in environmental preservation and protection to ensure the three-year maintenance of the trees to be planted to ensure that they will be spared from the unscrupulous activities of people, especially those people living in the affected communities.

During the summer months where the El Niño phenomenon was at its height, the Cordillera region recorded the highest number of affected areas and trees damaged due to the occurrence of unabated forest fires that were either triggered by natural or man-made activities.

But Baguilat revealed majority of the forest fires were due to human activities and kaingin or the slash and burn type of farming.

The DENR is working with the National Commission on Indigenous peoples (NCIP) to craft an order mandating the massive regreening of the region’s forests.