TARLAC CITY (PIA) — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), under the Enhanced National Greening Program (ENGP), has partnered with eight new adopters and one renewal adopter to help expand the restoration and protection of forestlands in the municipalities of Mayantoc and San Clemente, Tarlac.
With the addition of new adopters, the partnership has expanded to cover a total of 351.76 hectares of ENGP sites in the province.
DENR Regional Executive Director Ralph Pablo shared the importance of protecting the country’s natural resources, emphasizing the need for shared responsibility and participation among government agencies, private institutions, and local communities.
“The initiative strengthens the government’s reforestation efforts by encouraging private organizations and individuals to take an active role in maintaining and protecting rehabilitated forestlands beyond the initial planting phase,” he stated.
Meanwhile, DENR Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Jowell Dellosa explained that the adopters will manage the maintenance, protection, and rehabilitation of their respective sites while ensuring a minimum seedling survival rate of 85 percent.
These efforts include the establishment of bamboo, agroforestry species, and native forest trees to improve biodiversity and strengthen ecosystem resilience.
DENR will provide technical assistance, monitoring, and capacity-building activities to support the implementation of the program.
Supporting the government’s environmental protection and sustainable development agenda under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the ENGP not only focuses on forest restoration but also contributes to climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, poverty reduction, and sustainable development. (CLJD/AJRR, PIA Region 3-Tarlac)
