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Freeport / Ecozone News
SBMA to supply seedlings
for government greening
program in Region 3
SBMA Public Relations Department
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will supply most of Region
3’s need for seedlings under a national greening program that seeks to plant some 1.5 billion trees
throughout the country in a period of five years.
SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia announced
this recently, as he tasked the SBMA Ecology Center to
intensify its collection of seedlings of various indigenous
tree species in this freeport for use in tree-planting
projects in Central Luzon.
Garcia said the SBMA has taken on a significant
role in the government’s National Greening Program (NGP)
after it signed a joint memorandum of agreement with
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) and the Department of Science and Technology
(DOST) for the establishment of an indigenous tree specie
nursery here.
“We are in the best position to supply planting
materials for the greening program, because the Subic Bay
Freeport has all sort of indigenous tree species in its wellprotected
forests,” Garcia said.
“Aside from this, Subic Freeport has all types of
vegetation — from those that grow in forests to those that
thrive in grasslands and mangroves, so it can really supply
seedlings even for various types of location,” he added.
SBMA forester Patrick Escusa, meanwhile, said
that Ecology Center personnel are currently gathering
seeds and seedlings from a mini-park right at Subic’s
central business district.
“So far, we have Narra and Bani seedlings from
our mini-park here, and after this, we’ll also collect socalled
‘wildings’ — or seedlings that have sprouted from
fallen seeds — at residential areas in the zone,” he said.
The collected seedlings are carefully transplanted
into seedling bags, and then cared for at the SBMA nursery
until they’re ready for distribution.
The NGP aims to reforest 100,000 hectares with
100 million seedlings this year; 200,000 hectares with 200
million seedlings in 2012; and 300,000 hectares with 300
million seedlings annually for 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Half of the total number of seedlings to be planted
would be forest tree species for timber production and
forest protection purposes. The other half will consist
of tree species used in agro-forestry sites conducive to
growing cash crops and fruits.
Environment Secretary Ramon Jesus Paje said
that a key feature of the NGP is to correct certain gaps
in past reforestation undertakings that “usually were
concentrated in areas that were most convenient to
(planters) without regard to whether the tree seedlings
planted will thrive in those areas.”
“What we really want are healthy and mature 1.5
billion trees. We want trees we can take care of, not just
numbers,” Paje added.
Garcia said the SBMA would be willing to supply a
huge chunk of the seedling requirements for NGP projects
in Central Luzon.
He added that the SBMA had previously provided
seedlings for reforestation projects in neighboring
communities upon request from local government units,
schools and people’s organizations.
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