PNP goes green vs climate change

Aside from poking guns and chasing criminals, the 140,000-strong Philippine National Police will soon be seen planting tree seedlings across the country for an entire year. This after the PNP and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) launched a joint project called “Pulis Makakalikasan: 10 Milyong Puno, Pamana sa Kinabukasan” project. “Planting trees is the PNP’s own little way of helping mitigate the effects of climate change to our environment. After all, the PNP is not only Maka-Diyos, Makabayan and Makatao, we are also Maka-kalikasan,” PNP chief Nicanor Bartolome recently said. Considered as PNP's contribution to the national government's "National Greening Program (NGP)," the joint project involves the PNP's 140,000 police personnel planting 10 million trees nationwide until February 28, 2013. “Indeed, this is another convergence we are pursuing under the NGP, and this early I can tell that it is going to be successful because of the commitment shown by PNP’s top hierarchy,” said Environment Secretary Ramon Paje. Under the agreement, police personnel will put up tree nurseries inside police camps while DENR personnel help them identify tree species most suitable for planting based on prevailing climactic and soil conditions in those areas. Even outside their camps, PNP personnel will also be tapped to undertake tree-planting activities to meet NGP standard for planting sites. Forest communities, meanwhile, will be tasked to maintain these nurseries outside the camp. Created by President Benigno Aquino III in February last year, the NGP was designed to plant 1.5 billion trees on 1.5 million hectares from 2011 to 2016. In 2012, the government targets to plant 114 million seedlings. According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, the Philippines lost around 157,000 hectares of forest annually from 2000 to 2005. Deutsche Gesellshaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit, a German development agency, said the country was losing its forests at the rate of 150,000 hectares per year until 2011. (See related: After 20 years, forest crusaders reap rewards for conserving resources) — LBG, GMA News