BACOLOD CITY — Almost 8,000 tree seedlings have been planted by personnel of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in various agrarian reform communities (ARCs) in southern Negros Occidental as of Friday.
The initiative supports the government’s climate change resiliency and national greening programs in relation to Republic Act No. 9729 or the Climate Change Act of 2009.
Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer I Enrique Paderes said the tree-planting activities are the agency’s way of helping mitigate the effects of climate change, which greatly affects the livelihood of agrarian reform beneficiaries.
On Friday, about 4,000 seedlings were planted in Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City and Barangay Bi-ao, Binalbagan. It was initiated by DAR personnel along with officers and members of agrarian reform beneficiary organizations.
Last Feb. 28, 4,000 trees were also planted in barangays Gomez and General Malvar, both in Pontevedra town.
Paderes said DAR-Negros Occidental II has been a partner of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in achieving the program’s objective.
“This is to provide opportunities for communities to develop social enterprises in order to produce sustainable livelihood and optimize benefits, and encourage local government units and organized upland communities in the development of forest plantations, including forest parks,” he added.
Through the National Greening Program, the government aims to cover the remaining 7.1 million hectares of unproductive, denuded and degraded forestlands nationwide. (PNA)