As part of their commitment to a sustainable green future, the Energy Development Corp. is ready to roll-out their Master Plan in implementing the “10 million trees in 10 years for a Greener Negros” with local environment and community partners in Negros Oriental this Monday, Feb. 15 in Dumaguete City.
The 10M in 10 movement, launched in October 2015, is in partnership with the provincial governments of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental as well as private and government agencies, the academe and other sectors including the media. It aims to restore forest covers in the whole Negros Island, a media release said Friday.
Executive Director of 10M in 10 and former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Environment & Natural Resources, Prof. Marlo Mendoza, with Prof. Rex Cruz, former chancellor of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, will present the Roadmap and Strategies that need to be employed by partners to ensure the success of the greening program.
The program is conceptualized to go beyond tree planting and includes maintenance and management of our forests which is also vital in EDC’s operation to provide clean geothermal power for decades to come.
When the company first set foot in Negros Island in the 80’s, forest cover was at a critical four percent prodding EDC to embark on a massive environment program that by 2008, a total of 2,300 hectares all over Negros has been reforested to help reverse forest loss.
That same year, BINHI greening legacy was launched with a more purposeful science-based approach to reforest 10,000 hectares in 10 years and since then has been recognized as having revolutionized corporate greening programs and has converted kaingeros into forest stewards.
An additional 2,700 hectares in Negros Island alone has been reforested and restored in the last five years with over 2 million seedlings planted. More importantly, the program has brought back in abundance about 96 vanishing premium native tree species.
“Even as we aspire to grow our renewable energy business here and abroad, we remain committed to providing a better life, a greener Negros to present and future generations,” said Norreen Bautista, EDC’s Community Partnerships, External Relations & Watershed Management head for Negros Island. “This, we will do with our 10M in 10 partners.”
The same consultative meeting will ensue on Feb. 16 at the Planta Hotel in Bacolod City for Negros Occidental partners. (PR)
