Over 6.6 million seedlings have been planted in various areas in the province as part of its “Tanum” (plant) Iloilo program since it was launched in 2020 until last year as it gears to embark on another activity at the start of the rainy season.

“Our tree planting is our regular implementation for La Niña because that is part of our long-term plans. That is part of our Tanum Iloilo program, an ongoing program that cuts across other programs,” Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said in a press conference on Thursday.

The provincial government launched the program in 2020, aiming to plant 1.5 million trees annually to “restore and develop the province’s forests from ridge to reef to achieve the status of a Forest Province.”

The tree growing prioritizes primary and secondary forests and households.

The latest, he said, was in schools and plazas targeting some 1 million trees.

The province’s one central and five satellite nurseries produce around 1 to 1.5 million seedlings annually for the program.

Data, however, showed that from 2020 to 2022, the survival rate of the over 5.11 million seedlings was 48 percent, while monitoring is ongoing for the over 1.54 million planted last year.

For the mangrove rehabilitation, the province has recorded a 39 percent survival rate among mangroves planted in 330.50 hectares in 14 coastal municipalities.

Defensor is proposing for the private sector to adopt forest lands to ensure the sustainability of the program.

“We have to improve on that, the adoption of forests so that it can be nurtured,” he added. (PNA)