The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), through its corporate arm, the Natural Resources Development Corp. (NRDC), is set to forge agreements with local government units (LGUs) to rehabilitate 50,000 hectares of denuded forest areas under its "Planting Futures" program.
NRDC conceptualized the "Planting Futures" program which targets the establishment of industrial tree plantations in partnership with local governments and organized communities in various provinces.
"We are encouraging the planting of industrial trees, which yield hardwood, and the establishment of agro-forestry projects to enhance the rehabilitation of the country’s denuded forest areas and to create more income-generating opportunities in the countryside," DENR Secretary Jose Atienza Jr. said.
Initial estimates by NRDC show that the program will generate an additional income of at least P3,000 per family and provide employment for 10,000 families in each of the plantation areas.
NRDC President Ray Francis Alcoseba said negotiations are ongoing with Gov. Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar and Gov. Aurora Cerilles of Zamboanga del Sur, the first two of the four provinces initially identified among the targeted plantation sites for this year. The other targeted areas are Misamis Oriental and Cebu.
He also said the agency has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Datu Bayhon Ansihagan, head of the Higaonon Ancestral Domain Tribal Council involving 4,235 hectares for the program in barangay Eureka, Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental.
According to Alcoseba, Planting Futures "involves participating communities which shall provide the labor component of the program and shall have a corresponding share from the earnings. The earnings shall be set aside for college education of the children of the participating communities to be managed by a foundation specifically established for the purpose."
He also said that under the program, the NDRC through DENR shall provide technical assistance, source out funds from financial institution and support funds for nursery operations, plantation establishment, protection and maintenance, and harvesting.
The NRDC will provide support funds for the livelihood of the participating communities and assist in the marketing of the agricultural products and other cash crops that the latter will be producing.
The local governments on the other hand, will identify and provide specific areas within their respective areas, where the industrial tree plantations shall be established; identify organized communities which shall participate in the program; provide local funding source for the provision of labor; and assist NRDC to ensure effective implementation of the project.
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