“He who plants a tree, plants a hope.”
This is the battle cry adopted by Million Trees Foundation Incorporated (MTFI) on its first anniversary celebration urging Filipinos to plant trees to sustain the supply of water across the country, particularly in Metro Manila and adjoining provinces for the next 30 years and beyond.
MTFI celebrated its first anniversary at the Million Trees Nursery and Eco Learning Center at the La Mesa Dam compound in Novaliches, Quezon City.
The calls to plant trees were echoed by Elpidio Vega, chairman of the Metropolitan Waterworks System (MWSS), MWSS Adminsitrator Bobby Cleofas, Regional Executive Director Jacqueline A. Caancan Ceso III of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Ramon Ang, president and chief executive officer of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), J.V. Emmanuel de Dios,, president and CEO of Manila Water, Ramoncito Fernandez, president and CEO of Maynilad Water, Gen. Rey Velasco (Ret.), MTFI chairman emeritus, and Mel Velasco, MTFI president/executive director.
They stressed the importance of a sustainable environment by planting trees all over the country to ensure the continued supply of water for the present generation and the generations to come.
In his remarks, Fernandez called for the cleaning of Laguna Lake of dirt and pollution.
This was seconded by de Dios, who called on the people to respect Mother Nature, particularly water.
Laguna Lake is one of the lakes where Metro Manila and adjoining provinces get their water supply all year round.
On the side of the private sector, San Miguel Corporation (SMC), the giant beer company headed by Ang cited the vital role of MTFI in taking on taking “on the ambitious, but arduous task of planting millions of trees in critical watershed areas, including the La Mesa Watershed.”
“The importance of this endeavor in this day and age of climate change cannot be overemphasized. With more and more forest areas threatened by degradation, hands-on and direct action such as what MTFI and others responsible organizations are doing, is critical in ensuring we can at least mitigate some of the impacts of climate change,” Ang said.
“The role of trees and forests in our lives is basic but commonly overlooked–or worse, ignored. Apart from providing us valuable resources such as food and building materials, trees also protect us against land erosion and flooding,” he added.
Ang also said that “In the case of watersheds, they help ensure that there will be water for human survival.”
He lauded MWSS and MTFI by not lowering their guard down in this area, and have been successful in reforesting target watersheds these last couple of years.
“With the help of institutional partners and volunteers, they were able to surpass the five million trees target and have set another ambitious goal. And that is to plant 10 million more trees by the year 2030,” he said.
Ang assured that “you are not alone in this advocacy. For our part, San Miguel, through our power arm, San Miguel Global Power, have also surpassed the five-million tree mark in our own reforestation program, Project 747.”
“This initiative targets to plant seven million upland trees and mangroves on some 4,000 hectares of land in at least seven provinces, nationwide,” Ang said.
These include the provinces of Albay, Bataan, Bulacan, Davao Occidental, Negros Occidental, Pangasinan, Quezon, and Zambales.
The Foundation is dedicated to the conservation and rehabilitation of the seven critical watersheds namely: Angat, Ipo, Kaliwa, La Mesa, Laguna Lake, Umiray, and Upper Marikina, including Manila Bay through regular tree-planting and environmental conservation projects.