THE PHILIPPINE Eagle Foundation, in partnership with Globe, plans to plant three million trees in the identified nine sites of Mindanao through the “Planting For the Future” for reforestation and to support the IP communities.
During a forum at the Philippine Eagle Center on May 15, PEF forest restoration marketing officer Harold Kim Manla said the program aims to restore the forest habitats that are threatened by rapid deforestation and extreme climate conditions.
The program, originally launched on March 8, seeks to plant three million trees across 1,200 hectares of land in Mindanao. Ongoing activities include nurturing the tree’s survivability through nursing, maintenance, and a tracking system to monitor the progress and locations of the trees, which will be recorded in their database.
The foundation will plant native trees, such as dipterocarp for the eagles to nest in addition to fruit trees (mango, mangosteen, cacao, marang, and others). Among the identified Mindanao sites are located in Davao City, Davao de Oro, Davao del Sur, North Cotabato, and Bukidnon.
The PEF also collaborated with the Bagobo-Klata and Tigwahanon tribes as the program will train and provide 150 jobs to the IP communities, considered the workforce of tree planting, nursery, and maintenance.
“May mga IP communities talaga duon sa mga eagles nests because more than 70 percent of the population of the Philippine Eagles reside inside the ancestral domains of our IP communities,” Manla said.
Datu Melchor Olowan of the Unified Tigwahanon Ancestral Domain shared that their ancestral domain in San Fernando, Bukidnon experienced rampant illegal logging in the past.
He also added the PEF’s program helped raise awareness about the importance of tree planting.
Mayor Rogelio “Dodoy” C. Yeke also warned illegal loggers and illegal hunters to stay clear of IP lands.
“So karon diri mi maka focus karon sa three million trees ‘nya maningkamot mi namubalik gyud og lambo tung na agi sa mga loggings sauna,” Melchor said.
According to the Global Watch Forest data, 6,553 deforestation alerts were reported in the Philippines between May 6 and May 14, 2024. From 2013 to 2023, 72% of tree cover loss occurred in the Philippines, equivalent to 344 Metric tons of CO₂e emissions.
