Arboretum launched in Pangasinan

MANGATAREM, Philippines – The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) based in Dagupan City recently launched its arboretum, a library of trees in Pangasinan to foster in residents an appreciation for indigenous trees in the province.

Celso Salazar, community environment and natural resources officer in Dagupan City under whose jurisdiction the project was made, told The STAR that the arboretum is being put up at a three-hectare portion of the sprawling Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Salazar said golden shower trees were initially planted along the perimeter of the arboretum to make it visible from the air.

The PENRO is to collect 50 different kinds of indigenous tree species. Each hectare is to be planted with 200 saplings about a meter tall for greater chance of survival as the roots would have been fully developed. For the three-hectare lot, 600 saplings are to be planted.

“The purpose of this is because our native tree species are slowly vanishing so under our National Greening Program (NGP), we are putting up an arboretum to make people aware that our country used to be rich with these kinds but we have to recollect and replant them,” Salazar said. 

During the simple launch on Sept. 5, Salazar invited the Maritime Group in Dagupan City and Salvation Army volunteers to take part in the tree planting.

Each native tree planted shall have a tag that bears its common and scientific names and the benefits it gives. “It’s like having an ID and it shall be e-tagged with each tree being photographed so that one can easily locate it through Google map,” Salazar said.

Salazar said under the NGP, the planting of native/endemic trees that best thrive in specific region/province/municipality would be planted through an established arboretum for every PENRO.

“This is a wake-up call that we need to bring back our native tree species,” Salazar said.

Based on a memorandum dated Sept. 14, 2015 from Ricardo Calderon, director of the DENR’s Forest Management Bureau, “An arboretum is essentially a well-grown and representative collection of trees maintained for the purpose of reference and convenient source of seed and herbarium materials for use and exchange. It is a collection of living specimen for scientific studies, conservation of genetic resources, learning area for Dendrology and for the study of phenology and the reproductive biology of species.”

It added that the arboretum serves as a showcase of important economic plants in a particular place as major sources of food, building materials, clothing and medicine of the indigenous/local communities. The arboretum also serves as demonstration sites for ecotourism and educational purposes for students and local citizenry and sources of seeds plus trees.

Wikipedia said the Manleluag Spring and Protected Landscape was originally established in 1934 as the Manleluag Spring Forest Reserve covering approximately 58.8 hectares through Proclamation No. 659 signed by Governor-General Frank Murphy.

In 1939, the adjoining 32.9-hectare public forest was added to the reserve and  on Sept. 3, 1940, through President Manuel Luis Quezon’s Proclamation No. 612, it was re-designated as a national park occupying an area of approximately 91.7 hectares.

The park was converted into a protected landscape area in 2004 and now has a total area of 1,935.17 hectares and a buffer zone area of 965.09 hectares. It is one of only two protected areas in Pangasinan, the other being the Hundred Islands National Park in Alaminos City.