TUGUEGARAO CITY, Feb 20 (PIA) — To further increase the foliage for the greening program of the national government and to meet its target up to 2016, the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources in Region 2 (DENR-2) in targeting 14, 532 hectares of land to be planted with 7.36 million seedlings of different species of trees all over Region 2.

The target is almost thrice bigger than the target of 5, 995 hectares and even the actual accomplishments of 6, 776.56 hectares with 3.29 million seedlings planted last year, said Regional Technical Director Wilfredo Malvar.

Malvar said DENR-2 is very optimistic to meet the target and even surpass it with the support and collaborative effort of the different line agencies and civil society organizations.

“We can meet this target because we have so many partner agencies and organizations that will help us on this endeavor, not only in tree planting but also in ensuring the sustainability or survival of our planted seedlings,” Malvar said.

He also revealed that the agency has P243.36 million budget for the said project which will be utilized for surveys and mapping of sites, implementation planning, seedling production, site preparation and social mobilization and tree planting activities.