DENR told to step up tree-planting efforts to combat floods

More trees, less flooding. This was Senator Franklin Drilon's message when he urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to up its tree-planting efforts under its National Greening Program (NGP).   “I see no better way to mitigate the effects of typhoons and other natural calamities than to restore and preserve our environment, our forests,” Drilon said during the Senate finance committee performance review of the department on Thursday. During the hearing, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje reported that the program has planted a total of 71 million seedlings in about 140,000 hectares of denuded lands across the country.   “For 2011 and 2012, we have planted about 140,000 hectares with 71 million seedlings of different species,” he said, adding that 300,000 jobs were generated from seedling production and plantation establishment in 2011. Drilon, however, said this is just 9.3 percent of the government's plan.   "The goal is to plant 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares for the next six years. That is about 28 percent more trees than what was planted for the past 50 years. For 2012, the DENR target is 77 million trees to be planted in 150,000 hectares," he said. The senator said the DENR was granted P2.7 billion for the National Greening Program, the six-year project that he called "the biggest reforestation program in our history." He said this will increase to P5.7 billion in the proposed 2013 budget, and that the DENR's budget will increase to P23.7 billion next year from its current allocation of P17.5 billion. - BM, GMA News