Mindanao Treevolution kicks off, aims to plant 1.9 million trees
• 15:05 PM Fri Sep 26, 2014
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By:
John Unson, Roel Osano and Edwin Fernandez
185,440 people planting trees in Mindanao simultaneously
COTABATO CITY
(Sept. 26) – Thousands of volunteers, environmentalist and ordinary folks are now on its
way to various sites for the first ever Treevolutionand Greening Mindanao,” a
tree-planting project initiated by Mindanao Development Authority (MindDA)
that, aside from greening Mindanao, also aims to break a world record of having
the most number of trees simultaneously planted.
India is currently
the holder of Guinness world record.
In Cotabato
City, volunteers composed of government workers in the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Midanao, Cotabato City and Maguindanao, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng
Pilipinas (KBP) Cotabato chapter as well as other volunteers started the
journey to various sites.
The planting
time is 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.
MinDA said in
a statement it aims to plant 4.6 million trees in at least 28 areas across
Mindanao.
MinDA said the
Treevolution” is part of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
aim to plant 8.8 million trees this year.
Kahal Kedtag, DENR-ARMM
regional secretary, said members of the MILF would plant trees alongside
employees of the regional government.
Security
measures are in place to ensure the safety of participants to the event,”
Kedtag said.
Maguindanao Gov.
Esmael Mangudadatu said provincial government employees would plant seedlings along
the road leading to the scene of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre in Barangay
Masalay, Ampatuan town.
ARMM Gov.
Mujiv Hataman was reported to participate in the tree planting in Sultan
Kudarat, Upi and Datu Odin Sinsuat towns in Maguindanao.
Jojo
Reynaldo, MinDA coordinator for South Central Mindanao Jojo Reynaldo, saidas planned in today’s
activity, Mindanaons will plant 1.9 million to break India’s 1,945,535 trees
planted in 408 areas with 340,200 participants in 2011.
MinDA,
in a statement, stressed that the main purpose is not to break India’s record
only, but in compliance with the National Greening Program of the government.
More
than getting the world record, we also hope that through this, we will be able
to achieve Mindanao’s target of 690,815 hectares by 2016,” Reynaldo said.
Mindanaons
will plant trees in 9,200 hectares in 228 sites across the region with an
estimated 185,440 people participating.
In
the SOCCSARGEN region each planting site will be documented through geo-tagged
photos with 216 validators oon site that will monitor the seedlings planted.
Datu
Tungko Saikol, DENR-12 director, the region aims to plant 541,500 seedlings in
1,000 hectares of land with 10,830 participants.