Results may not be visible yet, but the reforestation of denuded mountains in Oslob, southern Cebu which began three years ago has made its mark.
As part of the government’s National Greening Program (NGP), indigenous trees were planted on mountaintop in sitio Bondo, barangay Daanlungsod.
“Results can barely be seen because we planted slow-growing indigenous trees in the area,” said Argao Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) Flordeliza Geynozaga.
Compared to exotic trees, endemic ones like Molave and Mamalis develop better in the kind of soil the town has. It takes five to 10 years more before these trees grow fully at a height of 20 feet.
As of now, assorted young trees just a little over three feet are spread in the area, with bamboo braces to protect them. Aside from local species, Cinnamon, Narra, Acacia, Mahogany and Pine also grow in the area.
Geynozaga said that as of last year, 2,699 hectares of timberland has been planted with trees.
Oslob has a land area of over 11,000 hectares. Of this, 8,000 hectares are denuded.
The NGP is a forest rehabilitation program targeting to grow 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares nationwide from 2011 to 2016.
The program has also been providing additional source of income to over 100 farmers in Oslob town for the last three years. Five peoples’ organizations benefit from the program, including the Tumalog Daanlungsod Cañang Upland Farmers Association (TUDALCUFA) which takes care of 1,056 hectares.
TUDALCUFA chairman Timoteo Miraz said farmers who participated in the NGP earned as much P150. Miraz tasked eight members who are paid P5,000 a month to serve as forest guards.
From 2011 to 2013, the NGP has generated 1.2 million jobs nationwide.