Practical Approach! ‘Hybrid’ Re-Greening Program To Bring Back Trees in Hilands

Before former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez was rejected by the powerful Commission on Appointments, I proposed to her a collaboration between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Enironment and Natural Resources to implement an effective Greening Program for the country.

Inter-related kasi ang forest protection with food production, just as an old Korean friend once said: “Good Mountain, Good Water, Good Life.”

I proposed the “Bantay Kagubatan Program,” which I personally designed where poor rural families would be allocated 5 hectares in the denuded forest lands of the country to plant trees.

There would be two kind of trees to be planted – industrial to include Falcata and others which would be harvested later and the native species which would be left to grow.

For every tree seedling that grows in the farmer’s allocated area, he would receive a monthly incentive totaling about P5,000 and in addition he would be supported by government with livelihood projects like free-range chicken raising, Coffee and Cacao farming and others.

Upon the harvest of his industrial tree, the farmer gets all the income and it is estimated that at current prices, three hectares of industrial trees would lift him out of poverty after 8 to 10 years.

Unfortunately, Gina’s confirmation was waylaid in the CA and, while we continued our linkage after she returned to the private sector, the Bantay Kagubatan Program was literally dead in the water.

The strategy would have addressed one of the weakest links in the country’s reforestation program which had received billions in funding over the years with very little progress.

For as long as the main objective of our re-greening program is environmental protection alone without consideration for income generation for those who plant the trees, it will fail.

This is where the “hybrid” concept of re-greening or reforestation comes in through the “Bantay Kagubatan” Program where the stakeholders will earn from planting trees.

Kung walang pakinabang at walang kikitain ang magsasaka, hindi mo mapilit na magtanim ng kahoy ang mga iyan. They need to survive.

Ito ang isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit falure ang ating reforestation program na kumain na ng bilyon-bilyon na pondo sa nakalipas na mga dekada.

The “Bantay Kagubatan” concept could be effective especially in Ancestral Domain Areas of the Indigenous People where they could participate in the program as a community.

A similar strategy had already been started by lawyer Burt Estrada, the incumbent president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines who belongs to an IP tribe in Malaybalay, Bukidnon.

Burt led his people in planting Giant Bamboo in their Ancestral Domain with a plan to establish an engineered Bamboo processing facility to add value to the IP farmers produce.

In the case of the industrial trees under the “Bantay Kagubatan” Program, wood processing facilities could be established to be co-owned by the stakeholders for value-adding and job generation, as well.

This strategy, however, needs a legislation to institutionalize a practical and doable environmental and ecological program to be undertaken by a well-funded multi-agency body.

The creation of a National Forest Conservation and Water Management Authorty or a similar body is the answer to save our country from an imminent disaster.

This is a very practical and doable solution to a problem which could threaten our food security and the well-being of the next generation.

#GovernanceIsCommonSense!

#KungGustoMaramingParaan!

(The first photo was taken in the Mountain Province in 2016 while the rest of the photos were part of my presentation to Gina Lopez when I introduced the Bantay Kagubatan Program.)