Philippines

In the Philippines, many communities are interested in reforestation or tree planting activities. Inquiries into these activities were often raised in monthly assemblies and school symposia.

Baggao – a community in the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor in northern Luzon – is currently experiences the effects of global warming and climate change. In response, the newly-elected municipal chief executive Mayor Rolando T. Uanang (a forester by profession) created the position of Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer. This is a great opportunity to strengthen the partnership between the local government and CI and will help the Baggao community pursue the government’s Green Philippines Program, a priority of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In addition to agroforestry, CI and partners organized a goat-rearing activity as part of the supplemental livelihood project for the community. To assist the community with augmenting their income, CI provided 30 indigent upland families with 30 native female goats (does) and six male goats (bucks) to rear and sell.

A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed by the farmer beneficiaries, Barangay Councils and CI to ensure that the project will benefit other farmers in the future.

IN DEPTH: Learn about more population, health and environment initiatives in the Philippines.