DENR taps CBFM beneficiaries as primary partners of greening program

By Erlinda Olivia P. Tiu

Saturday 3rd of March 2012

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, March 3 (PIA) -- Some 144 people’s organizations (POs) under the Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will be tapped as primary partners in the implementation of the National Greening Program (NGP) in Eastern Visayas.

Now in its second year of implementation, the NGP in Region 8 has a total of 12,365 hectares targeted for development by the 144 POs implementing the CBFMP, Ms. Purificacion Daloos, chief of the public affairs office of the DENR 8 informed.

Secretary Paje announced to around 2,000 participants of the recently held CBFM Practitioners’ Congress at the Fontana Convention Center,Clark, Pampanga that the CBFM POs will be tapped to take the lead role in the production and planting of seedlings, as well as maintenance of plantations under the NGP.

However, only qualified CBFM POs can enter into contract for NGP activities with the DENR, Ms. Daloos said.

Qualified POs are those which have registration certificates from the Department of Labor and Employment, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Cooperative Development Authority. The said POs should also be accredited by the DENR and must have capability-building experiences like nursery operation, seedling production, planting techniques as well as financial management, Ms. Daloos added.

In order to facilitate the registration of POs, Secretary Paje ordered the creation of special units at the Central and Regional offices of the DENR that would link the POs to registering agencies. These POs would also undergo accreditation process from the DENR, Ms. Daloos said.

Once qualified, the POs can enter into contract with the DENR to undertake NGP activities and avail on a first come first served basis, the 100 million pesos funding provided by the government for livelihood opportunities as announced by Secretary Paje, Ms. Daloos added.

More importantly, all products from plantation and projects implemented by the POs in production areas will plow back to them. Plantations in timberland areas and protected areas should, however, be saved as climate change mitigation measure, the information officer concluded. (EOPT-PIA 8)