Guimaras to plant trees for 'carbon credits'
The provincial government of Guimaras has initiated a massive planting of 4,000 seedlings in one of its watershed areas in Jordan for them to qualify for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol. Guimaras is only one of the two applicants in Western Visayas for carbon credits.
Gov. Felipe Hilan Nava said the province has already applied for a CDM through an international organization which is based in Germany. He did not name the NGO but said it is composed of Ilonggos who have been working for various international projects such in United Nations funded projects.
In the CDM, the first world countries which have higher levels of carbon dioxide emissions will pay those sectors that are into massive tree planting activities. The trees should be newly planted and subject for the evaluation of the concerned NGO. If the application is approved, the money collected from the carbon credits will go directly to the NGO and the province would be their recipient, said Nava.
Aside from Guimaras, the province of Negros Occidental also applied for a CDM. For the past years, the province has been giving emphasis in the protection of its forest particularly those declared as protected areas.
Last Friday, some 4,000 mixed seedlings of mahogany and acacia mangiom were planted in Barangay Buluangan in Jordan. It is more or less 10 kilometers away from the town proper. The tree planting activity is part of the Linggo ng Kabataan in Guimaras with a theme "Kabataan Tagapagmana at Tagapangalaga ng Kalikasan Tungo sa Maunlad na Bayan."
The 4,000 tree seedlings cover more than a hectare in the watershed. The watershed provides drinking water not only in the town of Jordan but also in its neighboring towns. The water system is important in the development plan of the province. The watershed needs to be protected, said Nava.
Unluckily, Barangay Buluangan is one of the sites in the province applied for exploration production agreement and mining production sharing agreement.
The massive planting of trees has a significant effect in reducing the greenhouse effect aside from the monetary considerations once the province qualifies in the CDM. The NGO will monitor the mortality rate of the seedlings planted along the watershed.
The NGO is interested in helping any local government unit provided they can meet the requirements. They want a local government unit which has clear intentions of reducing the emission of carbon dioxide. The same massive tree planting is also set to be held in the different watershed areas in the province.
The applicant like the province of Guimaras must have a forest cover of at least half a hectare, the planted trees have a canopy cover of 25-30 percent and five meters above. A documentation of the tree planting activity is made to convince the NGO of the mortality rate of the planted materials.
The governor said they will initiate plans in order to ensure the mortality rate of the planted seedlings. Initially, they are planning to give incentives to the barangays where the reforestation is initiated.