ILOILO – The Province of Iloilo is aiming to nearly triple its forest cover to 33 percent by 2044 as the provincial government intensifies a long-term reforestation drive that will mobilize communities, local governments and other sectors to plant — and more importantly, grow — trees across the province.
The ambitious target translates to about 37,000 to 38,000 hectares of forest cover, a significant jump from the province’s current 12 percent, according to the Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office (PGENRO).
The province has about 114,000 hectares of timberland and forestland.
While the 33-percent target remains a long way off, Iloilo has already made substantial progress from the 1990s to 2000, when its forest cover stood at only about two percent.
The province will give another push to the campaign on Saturday, September 19, when PGENRO marks the 27th Piyesta sa Kakahuyan with a province-wide tree-growing activity, with the main planting site in Barangay Balabag, Anilao.
Around 2,000 seedlings of jackfruit, cacao, coffee and other native and fruit-bearing trees will be planted during the activity, according to PGENRO’s Environmental Programs and Management Services Division headed by Forester Mitzi S. Peñaflorida.
PGENRO is calling on Ilonggos to actively participate in the initiative, particularly local government units, barangays, Integrated Social Forestry (ISF) communities, people’s organizations, schools, civil society groups, the private sector and other stakeholders.
The province is promoting the planting of native, fruit-bearing and multipurpose trees as part of its broader forest restoration, protection and sustainable management efforts.
Participants and communities are also being urged not merely to plant seedlings but to protect and maintain them, mobilize ISF communities and people’s organizations, strengthen collaboration among LGUs, barangays, schools and other partners, and sustain reforestation and forest management efforts.
PGENRO said Piyesta sa Kakahuyan continues to underscore the vital role of forests in supporting communities and protecting Iloilo’s natural resources.
“Now that on its 26 years of celebration, the 27th Piyesta sa Kakahuyan continues to highlight the importance of forests in sustaining communities, protecting watersheds, and strengthening the province’s environmental efforts,” it stressed.
The activity also forms part of Iloilo’s broader ambition of becoming a “Forest Province” through the Tanum Iloilo program.
“This celebration also reaffirms our continuing commitment to achieving a Forest Province through Tanum Iloilo and strengthening our collective efforts to plant, nurture, and grow trees across the province,” PGENRO stated.
The agency urged every Ilonggo to do his or her share by planting and growing trees, caring for forests and helping keep the province green for future generations.
The September 19 activity underscores a key element of Iloilo’s strategy: reforestation cannot end with planting seedlings. Trees must be protected, nurtured and allowed to mature if the province is to raise its forest cover from the present 12 percent to its 33-percent target by 2044./PN
