Recently, the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board issued Memorandum Circular 2020-06, requiring all public transport operator-applicants to engage in tree planting in order for them to be granted their franchise. This is welcome news considering the environmental damage due to the carbon emissions from fossil fuel fed vehicles. Based on the directive, franchise applicants need to plant one tree for every public transport franchise applied for. Following their lead, I have some further suggestions.
First, why not apply the reforestation program to all motorized vehicle registrations and not just limited to those who operate public transport? On the road, there is no difference. All motorized vehicles emit harmful carbon particulates. A tree for every vehicle program makes sense, and this will dramatically increase the number of trees to more than 10 million, which is equivalent to the number of vehicles registered annually. This will equate to more carbon reduction and cleaner air. The program can even be designed to increase the number of trees one is required to plant according to the type of engine and engine displacement of the vehicle. It should be so, because bigger ones consume more fuel and therefore emit more harmful particles. There will, however, be exemptions, such as those seeking to register electric and hybrid vehicles. And such exemptions, bundled with other built-in incentives and subsidies, will encourage and reward motorists shifting to non-fuel vehicles, which is beneficial to all in the long run.
Second, let’s tweak this program to focus on urban reforestation. Rather than tree-planting in general, it would be more relevant if we apply the program to the urban jungles of our cities, for a number of reasons. One, trees in urban areas contribute to greater carbon mitigation—at source. Transport currently account for the second highest source of greenhouse gases in our country. And most transport related activities happen in urban areas. Hence, having reforestation where the most carbon emissions happen will provide the greater margin of carbon reduction. This does not downplay, of course, the need to recover forested areas in our mountain ranges. But there are already existing government reforestation programs that just need to be strictly enforced and monitored.
There are other benefits to urban reforestation. They prevent soil erosion and are natural flood control defenses. Trees also provide city habitat for disappearing species of birds and wildlife and make good noise absorption, helping de-stress the already high-strung city populace. Then planting some fruit-bearing trees (and vegetables) will naturally help increase urban food supply. Plus, we all talk about encouraging everyone to bike and walk. Urban reforestation provides an encouraging environment for such activities, leading to lesser public health costs, and the budget can then be re-aligned to other priorities such as education and social welfare. Having all of the above will equate to a better quality of life that will also increase the overall value of urban real estate, as more and more people will be attracted to live in these areas.
Managing these urban forests can even be tied in to motor vehicle usage. Have the vehicle owners that planted such trees take care of them at least for six months or until the trees can survive on their own. Have traffic violations connected to plant management activities, similar to community services. In this manner, maintenance costs of these urban forests can be brought down, not to mention the social impact it will bring to the public, especially to the motoring community.
There are only pluses and not minuses to the tree-planting program that the government initiated. And expanding this to cover all other vehicles and concentrating this on urban reforestation will all the more add value to such initiative. Urban cities, in the normal course of things, cause much harm to the environment given the carbon footprint that city activities leave behind. But done properly and given the proper direction and support by the government, our urban way of life can help reverse the damage being done. A tree for every vehicle program and urban reforestation can be a good initiative to make this happen.
Thomas “Tim” Orbos is currently a transport policy advisor for an international organization and worked in government on transport and urban development matters. He is an alumnus of Georgetown University and the MIT Sloan School of Management. He can be reached via e-mail—tmo45@georgetown.edu /thomas_orbos@sloan.mit.edu