Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) on Monday said its groupwide reforestation initiative nationwide has planted 3.8 million trees since 2019 to date, even as it recently completed planting over 26,000 trees in Angat, Bulacan together with the town’s Dumagat communities.
The initiative is among the conglomerate’s major environmental sustainability projects aimed at helping address the impacts of climate change through the rehabilitation of degraded forests nationwide, carbon capture and reduction of soil erosion which contributes to severe flooding in lowland areas.
San Miguel President and CEO Ramon S. Ang said the company, through its power firm SMC Global Power Holdings, has partnered with the indigenous communities of Dumagats in Bulacan to cover the first 16 of 55 hectares targeted for planting with dipterocarp tree species like White and Red Lauan, Palosapis, Apitong, Yakal, Guijo and other indigenous species, such as Bignai and Narra. The initiative is part of the power firm’s s carbon capture program dubbed Project 747, which aims to plant 7 million trees on over 4,000 hectares of land, in seven provinces nationwide.
“We thank the members of the indigenous community in Bulacan, the Dumagats, for helping the company plant 26,656 trees on 16 hectares in just two weeks last December. Being residents in the area, their local knowledge and insights are very valuable to our program, from the choice of the ideal tree species, to identifying the upland areas where these trees should be planted to ensure their growth to adulthood,” Ang said.
The company and community volunteers have planted a total 54,056 trees and mangroves to date in Bulacan since 2019. The reforestation effort complements San Miguel’s flood mitigation strategy in the province, which will include a river channel improvement program for the Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando River System as well as other active rivers and tributaries in Bulacan.
This total includes 6,400 trees, including 3,200 narra and guyabano tree varieties planted by employees of San Miguel’s Bulacan Bulk Water Supply unit over 14 hectares at the Angat Dam Watershed since 2019. This project was conducted in cooperation with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.
Dubbed the annual Million Tree Planting Challenge, MWSS partners with organizations to reforest or replenish the forest cover of 126 hectares of the Angat Dam Watershed within three years.
San Miguel is also looking to develop the first 20 hectares of its 80-hectare San Miguel-Paombong Mangrove Plantation and Sanctuary project at Barangay Masukol in the town of Paombong, which can host as many as 200,000 mangroves.
“We are taking a holistic approach in our environmental programs and this both entails the reforestation and establishment of mangrove and upland areas. By rehabilitating these upland areas, we can help mitigate soil erosion that contributes to heavy sedimentation or siltation of tributaries which, together with solid waste pollution, result in flooding. At the same time, nurturing mangrove areas will protect coastal areas from storm surges and flooding.”
Image credits: Contributed photo