Amid the ongoing 10M in 10 for a Greener Negros Movement, a program by the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) that seeks to plant trees across Negros, Professor Pastor Malabrigo, Jr., an associate professor with the University of the Philippines-Los Baños Department of Forest Biological Sciences said, with 7,745,809 seedlings planted over the past four years, it is “way above the target of 10 million.”
“It is very strategic that it is being implemented in Negros because it is most devastated island in the country,” he pointed out.
Malabrigo added, “What is beautiful about the project is that it is a collaborative effort with many volunteers from different sectors.”
The professor, who served as guest speaker during an anniversary event for the program last Tuesday at the Capitol Social Hall, blamed illegal logging for the deforestation problem in the Philippines.
Malabrigo noted, the “kaingin system,” which involved the cutting down and burning of trees and plants for cultivation purposes, has also contributed to forest degradation.
“Nothing is left in the kaingin system, including residuals,” he explained. “What is worse is that many of our indigenous people are into shifting cultivation, where they jump from one area of the forest  to the other.”
According to the program’s year-end report, as of December 2019, the program piloted nine out of nine mini-plans in 103 cities and municipalities on the island; conducted 902 planting activities and six cluster meetings; and developed 166 partner agencies, organizations, and groups./DGB, WDJ