DENR partners with ADMU

CEBU, Philippines - In order to determine if the National Greening Program has hit its core aim, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has forged partnership with the academe.

 A memorandum of agreement was signed between the DENR-7 and the Ateneo de Manila University to gauge the actual impact of the government’s massive reforestation program in addressing climate change.

The ADMU will help the agency in assessing the effectiveness of the National Greening Program in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming and weather extremes.

 Under the DENR’s GHG-NGP project, a deal to hire the services of ADMU was finalized on January 23 during a contract signing between DENR Assistant Secretary Corazon Davis and ADMU president Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ.

 “NGP is the flagship reforestation program of the Aquino administration that aims to cover 1.5 million hectares with trees by 2016. It also serves as a mechanism for climate change mitigation to enhance the country’s forest stock to absorb carbon dioxide and other GHGs,” said DENR 7 Regional Director Isabelo Montejo.

 GHGs are atmospheric gases that absorb and emit radiation in a greenhouse effect, causing global warming which, in turn, leads to climate change. A periodic inventory of GHGs provides information that can be used to formulate policies and assess progress on climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.

 As provided in its service contract, the ADMU is expected to deliver projection reports on GHG emissions from production and consumption processes, as well as an assessment on the carbon sequestration of forests.

 The data will be presented in technical and documentation reports, as well as in a website that will be put up speci-fically for the project. ADMU will also train and orient all stakeholders involved in the project.  (FREEMAN)