The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is partnering with a Catholic movement—Couples for Christ—for a project seeking to plant one million trees under the government’s expanded national greening program.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said a partnership with non-government organizations is “vital” to achieving the goals of program.
“We are glad that an organization such as the CFC, a church-based organization, is helping us in our goal to protect the environment by taking part in the ENGP,” he said.
The DENR-CFC partnership was formalized through a memorandum of agreement signed by Cimatu and CFC-Philippines president Michael Ariola.
Under the arrangement, the CFC has committed to contribute to the national reforestation effort by planting one million forest tree seedlings from 2019 to 2021, and maintaining and protecting the planted seedlings during that period.
The DENR is tasked to give technical assistance to CFC in terms of identifying the forestlands where the seedlings will be planted, conduct survey, planning and mapping, and identify the suitable tree species that should be planted in the areas concerned.
The ENGP is the continuation of the previous National Greening Program, and was signed under the Executive Order 193 in 2015.