DMCI Power Corporation (DPC) has pledged to plant a total of 26,225 native trees, and bamboos over the next three years in Palawan in support of the Department of Environment and Natural Reources’ (DENR) National Greening Program.
DPC signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the adoption of a 10-hectare permanent reforestation areas in Barangay Taritien, Narra, Palawan, and 2 hectares in Barangay Sagpangan, Aborlan, Palawan.
DPC has teamed up with various community cooperatives in the province of Palawan to implement the project, which aims to address deforestation.
Palawan Plant Manager, Rolando Antonio Chavez, Jr. said that this project aims to plant 17,500 native trees and 7,500 bamboo clumps in Narra, Palawan; and 1,225 endemic trees in Aborlan, Palawan.
“We strongly believe and adhere to the DENR’s mandate to protect the environment and to sustain ecological balance. Our partnership with the DENR for community-based forest management is a testament to our shared responsiblity and highlights our contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on Climate Action,” he said.
Under the MOA, DENR will offer additional support by mobilizing all its bureaus, attached agencies, and regional offices to provide support for the implementation of the project. DENR will likewise provide technical assistance in identifying possible site, for planting and species-site matching; and will assist in the documentation of planted trees, that include geo-tagging, plantation registry, and mapping, among others.
The planting of more than 20,000 trees would mean the conversion of an estimated 89,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen or the equivalent of about 9,000 hectares of lush reforested areas.