OMF secures more reforestation partners

MANILA, Philippines — One Meralco Foundation (OMF), the social development arm of power distributor Manila Electric Co., has teamed up with more organizations to beef up its sustainable reforestation program which seeks to contribute to environment preservation and community improvement.

Under the One For Trees program, OMF provides funding for reforestation activities such as establishment of nurseries, planting of seedlings during the appropriate season, and continued monitoring of the trees planted.

OMF plans to nurture and protect at least five million trees by 2025, while providing sustainable livelihood to communities around conservation sites.

New agreements for the One For Trees program were signed by OMF with the Butuan City Water District (BCWD), Fostering Education and Environmental Development (FEED), and Participatory Research Organization of Communities and Education towards Struggle for Self-Reliance of Bohol (PROCESS Bohol).

The new partnerships will expand the reach of the program to the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Laguna, and parts of Bohol.

The new OFT partners have identified specific targets to help their respective communities.

For BCWD, 48,000 trees will be planted in the Taguibo Watershed to sustain the forest reserve in the watershed, enabling quality water supply for the people of Butuan City.

FEED, on the other hand, targets to plant 100,000 trees in the Laguna-Quezon Land Grant site, which is planned to be developed as a major biodiversity hub in the Sierra Madre mountain range.

Meanwhile, PROCESS Bohol will rehabilitate upland and coastal forest patches damaged by Typhoon Odette in various areas in Bohol, as well as nurture 100,000 trees, 50,000 of which are mangroves.

With the help of these organizations, OMF said the One For Trees program can deliver a sustainable solution to the environmental and economic needs of the marginal communities.

“Some may see our efforts as a mere tree-planting, tree-growing, or tree-nurturing with a very high survival rate target.  Yes, we require those. But more importantly, One For Trees also invests at building the capacities and improving the economic welfare and social well-being of the people who maintain these trees and ensures that the same trees will also benefit their own families and communities.” Meralco chief CSR officer and OMF president Jeffrey Tarayao said.