CAPIZ – The acting chief of Capiz’s Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) was hailed as “most effective sustainable leader” in the Asia-Pacific region.
Atty. Emilyn “Abeb” Arboleda-Depon was one of the nine awardees of the 2021 Eco-Business A-List last December 2021.
This was the first time the award-giving body recognized individuals in government and civil society driving positive environmental and social impacts.
In the website eco-business.com, Arboleda-Depon’s “1M Kahoy Project” was cited as most notable for 2021 as it brought a range of different stakeholders for a massive tree-planting initiative in Capiz.
Capiz, 40 percent of which is covered by forest, lost 239 hectares of natural forest last year, according to Global Forest Watch data.
Depon believes empowering local community groups is the best way to protect forested areas.
“To grow a forest, we need to build communities and partnerships,” she said.
The tree-planting starts every June 25, the provincial Arbor Day, and ends in November, the Provincial Environment Consciousness Month.
The “1M Kahoy Project” led to the planting of 1,747,518 trees and helped Depon win the Civil Service Commission’s outstanding service award in October.
Depon also rallied against an amendment to the Philippine Mining Act that exempted local governments from securing quarry permits; she said this could potentially have major adverse environmental impacts.
“I’m doing my job to protect the environment against those who want to destroy it,” she said in an exchange with a local political rival in June.
Beyond this year, Depon aims to increase Capiz’s forest cover and restore ecosystem health in the region through better collaboration between government agencies, active community engagement, and closer monitoring.
Capiz’s forests are home to critically endangered species such as the Visayan hornbills, leopard cats and warty pigs.
A lawyer, journalist, farmer, environmentalist and community mobiliser, Arboleda-Depon has been leading environmental programs for Capiz since 2017. (With reports from https://www.eco-business.com/PN)
