DENR, PNP boost protection of NGP plantations in Tarlac

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) here recently forged a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with ten local Philippine National Police (PNP) and the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company to further protect and develop the established forest plantations in Tarlac under the National Greening Program (NGP).

According to Celia Esteban, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (PENRO) in Tarlac, the PNP municipal police station (MPS) in the towns of Anao, Camiling, Mayantoc, Moncada, Paniqui, Pura, Ramos, San Clemente, San Manuel and Sta. Ignacia have committed to continue the protection and development of some 20 hectares NGP plantations found in Sitio Canding and Sitio Libag in Barangay Maasin of San Clemente town in the province.

“After 3 years, the established NGP plantations have no more funds for protection and maintenance. And this is where the local police will enter to adopt these areas which were established by our partner people’s organizations (PO),” she explained.

She said the PNP of the first district of Tarlac will continue the protection and maintenance of the NGP areas to sustain its growth and development.

Under the agreement, the municipal police stations shall act as the overall project manager and provides mobilization of manpower giving consideration to the PO in the area, which they will hire as laborer in activities to be undertaken and pay them in cash.

They shall also shoulder the funding of survey, mapping and planning, produce seedlings for replanting, maintenance and protection of the adopted plantation, and coordinate with the DENR for technical support in the documentation and geo- tagging and inventory of seedlings.

The DENR on the other hand, shall provide technical assistance in the survey, mapping and planning, plantation management, site evaluation, biodiversity conservation, and species selection, and assist the PNP in the documentation of planted trees, which includes, but shall not be limited to geo-tagging, plantation registry and mapping including the conduct of regular monitoring.

For their part, Police Lieutenant Colonel Jovy Arceo, chief of the Camiling MPS vowed to further protect and develop the NGP plantations they adopted to increase forest cover in the province.

Esteban expressed her gratitude to the PNP especially the Kaligtasan Kalikasan (KALIGKASAN) program for their support in the forest protection and greening program of the government.

Since 2011, DENR Region 3 has already established more than 122,000 hectares of forest plantations within degraded watersheds and forestlands in the region. (-30-)

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