GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has tapped some 119 households in three municipalities in Sarangani province to help rehabilitate starting this year over 500 hectares of forestland in the area.
Forester Abdul Cariga, chief of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro)-Kiamba, said Monday they have signed letters of agreement (LOA) with the concerned households to expand the implementation of the Enhanced National Greening Program (E-NGP) through the “family approach.”
He said 84 families, mostly indigenous peoples, signed up for the program in Maitum town, 33 in Kiamba, and two in Maasim.
The project will cover a total of 517 hectares in the upland barangays of the three municipalities, he said.
“These areas will be planted with bamboo, cacao, coffee as well as other forest and fruit trees,” Cariga said in a statement.
Under the program, he said their office will assist the concerned families in rehabilitating and developing the forest areas in line with the implementation of the ENGP.
Through the “family approach,” which was introduced by the DENR central office last year, they aim to get more participation and commitment from their partner families and other community stakeholders.
A project briefer said the program beneficiaries will be properly compensated by the government, through the DENR, for the services rendered in the implementation of the program.
They will receive a retention fee equivalent to 10 percent of the total project cost for at least three years or the duration of the contract.
Cariga said they will continually engage with their family partners to ensure the proper implementation of the projects.
He said they extend the necessary technical assistance and other support programs to sustain the plantations and achieve E-NGP’s purpose in the concerned localities.
“Under my watch, we will implement this greening program with a strong partnership, accountability, and transparency,” he said. (PNA)
