Make tree planting a habit, Paje tells public

MANILA, Philippines - Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje is urging the public to develop the habit of planting trees, saying it is the “perfect way of giving what we have extracted from Mother Earth.”  

“Tree-planting is not only a rewarding experience but also a great step toward improving and protecting our environment,” Paje said, as he announced the plan of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to intensify its reforestation efforts in 2013 through the National Greening Program of the Aquino administration. 

The DENR chief said everyone is welcome to take part in the program which aims to plant trees covering about 1.5 million hectares from 2011 until 2016.

Since the program was launched last year, the DENR has already planted seedlings on more than 232,000 hectares all over the country.  

“One does not have to be part of the government or an environmental group to make a positive impact on his surroundings,” Paje pointed out, adding, “Filipinos from all walks of life are encouraged to do their part in sustaining the environment by planting trees.”  

Paje elaborated that planting a tree is like investing in the future given the “environmental rewards” that trees provide. 

As an essential part of the ecosystem, he said, trees not only provide homes and food for humans and wildlife, but also produce much of the earth’s oxygen, help reduce noise and air pollution, and prevent soil erosion.  

Paje said trees could lessen the impact of global warming due to carbon dioxide emissions. 

“Planting trees not only greens and beautifies the areas in which they are planted; it is also one of the ways of offsetting our carbon emissions,” he explained. 

According to studies, trees inhale carbon dioxide – one of the major contributing elements to the greenhouse effect which causes climate change – and exhale oxygen that is needed by humans and other living organisms.

 The decimation of rainforests and mass consumption of trees destroy what experts call the “carbon sinks.”  

Paje lauded recently the Department of Education (DepEd) and thanked DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro for requiring all public schools in Metro Manila to plant at least five species of native trees within their campuses.  

The DepEd project, Paje  said, would complement the urban greening component of the National Greening Program which, together with the Aquino government’s total log ban policy and three other categories, received a perfect score of 100 percent in the 2012 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) of the World. 

Because of the perfect score garnered by the administration’s twin forest policies, the Philippine ranking had improved eight notches to No. 42 in 2012 from No. 50 in 2010 among the 132 countries evaluated by four respected international institutions. 

 The Philippines outranked countries like South Korea (43rd), Australia (48th), United States (49th), Singapore (52nd) and Israel (61st). 

EPI is an evaluation of the sustainability of the environmental programs and policies of the countries concerned.

The evaluation was made by Yale University, Columbia University, the World Economic Forum and the Joint Research Center of the European Commission.