The National Greening Program (NGP) of the government, with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as the lead implementer, has increased the forest cover of Western Visayas region by 10. 4 percent between 2010 and 2020.

Since its launch in 2011, the program has planted trees across 121,257.58 hectares of land in the region, significantly contributing to environmental stability and biodiversity conservation, the DENR bared when it presented its accomplishment report during a media forum on Monday.

The program has also been a source of livelihood, creating jobs for 8,844 individuals who were involved in seedling production, plantation establishment, maintenance, protection, and serving as forest extension officers.

As of November 2024, the DENR regional office under Regional Executive Director Raul Lorilla has established an additional 2,274.9 hectares of plantations in Western Visayas, furthering the program’s impact in the region.

The NGP is a flagship initiative of the DENR aimed at addressing poverty, promoting food security, enhancing climate change adaptation, and increasing forest cover.

It initially aimed to plant 1.5 billion trees across 1.5 million hectares of public lands between 2011 and 2016.In 2015, the program was expanded through Executive Order No. 193, extending its scope to rehabilitate 7.1 million hectares of unproductive, denuded, and degraded forest lands nationwide from 2016 to 2028. (PNA)