THE re-greening program “Tanum Iloilo” of the Iloilo provincial government planted nearly four million tree seedlings since 2019. The planting goal is being achieved yearly but the bigger challenge is ensuring that the tree seedlings survive, grow and thrive.
The “Tanum Iloilo” trees’ survival rate is 70 percent – 10 percent less than the 80 percent standard survival rate. A tree seedling is considered to have survived if it still stands three years after planting.
There is no question about the need for tree planting and reforestation. With our balding forest cover, these should even be made mandatory – in the urban and countryside parks as well as in school grounds, other vacant lots and urbanized sites all over the country.
But planting the seedlings is not enough. We should ensure that they survive. We should avoid acts that can cause forest fires, and we should also prevent cutting especially in protected areas.
There must be continued awareness programs on tree planting, including educating the public on the proper and most effective way of doing it. While citizens are encouraged to plant and care for trees, schools should teach the importance of trees and integrate tree-planting activities into the curriculum to promote environmental consciousness among the youth. While at this, we must also emphasize the need to plant the right species in the area where it can grow and thrive.
We need trees not just for production but also as a way to mitigate climate change, to offset the carbon we emit on a daily basis. According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, a single tree can sequester 0.56 metric tons of carbon dioxide in its lifetime, and around 10 trees are needed to capture the emissions of just one car.
Trees are also vital in disaster risk reduction. For instance, mangroves are the best buffer against storm surges. We saw this during the onslaught of super typhoon “Yolanda” in 2013.
In the age of climate change, trees are vital to our survival. Thus we all need to look at tree planting as serious business.
