CEBU CITY, Philippines — To widen support for the government’s National Greening Program (NGP) in the region, a top official from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Central Visayas met recently with officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) to tap students in the advocacy of planting more than a billion trees all over the country starting this year up to 2016.

DENR 7 Regional Executive Director Maximo O. Dichoso, in his meeting with DepEd officials, emphasized that the program not only seeks to plant trees but also pursue poverty reduction initiatives, food security, land productivity, environmental stability and sustainability, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and values formation.

The NGP is a priority of President Benigno S. Aquino III in an effort to bring back the lost forest cover of the country

Dichoso said the goal is to plant 1.5 billion trees in some 1.5 million hectares from 2011 to 2016, which is more than twice the 730,000 hectares of planted trees for the past 25 years.

For Central Visayas, a total of 2.816 million seedlings will be planted this year to cover 5,632 hectares.

The target areas for planting under the program are forestlands, mangrove and protected areas, ancestral domains, civil and military reservations, urban area under the Greening Plan of local government units, inactive and abandoned mines and other suitable lands.

“The NGP is a collective effort and is counting on people’s participation through social mobilization by drawing partnership with all national government agencies, LGUs, government-owned and controlled corporations, including state colleges and universities to harness their maximum participation through their personnel complement,” he said.

Dichoso pointed out that students are strongly encouraged to join the activity to plant trees in order to prevent calamities and to ensure that the next generation will inherit clean air and livable environment.

He said the country’s forests could absorb more carbon, regulate climate and provide clean water and clean air for a healthier environment given the number of trees which will be planted starting this June.

“The program also provides stable watershed function and nutrients, steady supply of food and shelter for wildlife, adequate supply of seeds and wildlings, protection from heavy rains and storms, windbreaker, prevention of flash floods and landslides and revival of biodiversity,” he said.

Under the program, the DENR 7 will provide planting materials and technical assistance like the assessment of the identified planting sites, conduct of training and orientation on the proper planting and caring of planted seedlings, community development, and periodically monitor the survival of the seedlings.