Dubbed the Carbon Sink program, Dionnie Dapla, project manager of the existing Mangrove Experimental Forest Station (MEFS) in Pagbilao, said the DENR and Mirant would undertake the landmark environment project in Padre Burgos and other areas in Pagbilao.
Dapla noted that the DENR-Mirant reforestation plan covers 150 hectares of mangrove in Padre Burgos, covering eight coastal barangays; and 150 hectares of upland forest in Pagbilao.
At present, Dapla manages the 150-hectare MEFS, which is included in the 445-hectare mangrove forest in Pagbilao.
"We really have to widen our reforestation project to preserve our mangrove here in Quezon," Dapla stressed, adding that the MEFS is the home of 48 different mangrove species and the most diverse in the country.
The MEFS, which was established in Pagbilao in 1977 by the Forest Research Institute, contributes to the overall rehabilitation, conservation, protection and management of mangrove resources nationwide. It also serves as research and experimentation station to environmentalists in government and non-government organizations.
Greggy Romualdez, public affairs manager of Mirant, which operates the 700-megawatt power station in Pagbilao, said the Carbon Sink program would result in carbon sequestration or the capture of harmful carbon dioxide (Co2) from the atmosphere and their subsequent storage in forest areas where they are made nontoxic to the environment.
"Co2 is released into the atmosphere mostly by vehicles and industries. Once in the atmosphere, the compound causes damage to the ozone layer, causing climate change," Romualdez explained.
Mirant’s program is the largest ever private sector initiative to preserve and protect the country’s mangrove forests, he added.
Romualdez said that apart from the reforestation, the Carbon Sink program also includes the establishment of an eco-destination in the midst of the experimental mangrove forest.
The eco-destination, which was constructed in the MEFS, comprised bunkhouses, learning centers, and about a kilometer-long boardwalk from where the mangroves may be viewed.