Earth Day 2015 observance in ev DENR-8 leads tree planting, coral reef assessment

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines – Tree planting activities and coral reef assessments were among the highlights of the observance of Earth Day 2015 in Eastern Visayas, spearheaded by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Region 8 office.

DENR-8 Regional Director Leonardo Sibbaluca said this year’s Earth Day observance, bearing the theme “Earth Day, Everyday, Everywhere, for Everyone,” will be conducted with tree planting activities in the morning today at Barangay Salvacion in Palo, Leyte.

The guest of honor and speaker for today’s event is Gina Lopez, chair of the ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation. Expected to attend also are Leyte Governor Dominic Petilla, Police Regional Office-8 director Chief Superintendent Asher Dolina, Philippine Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade commander, Colonel Dinoh Dolina, and Navy Captain Pedro Tinampay, chief of the Coast Guard-Eastern Visayas.

At least a hundred policemen, together with soldiers of the Philippine Army in Region 8, have gathered in observance of Earth Day today for planting of thousands of fruit bearing trees and other seedlings.

Dolina said the police and the military will implement the government’s flagship National Greening Program, by implementing the Leyte Gulf Mangrove/Beach Rehabilitation Project and the P1-billion Mangrove/Beach Rehabilitation project of Yolanda-devastated areas in the region.

In the afternoon, there will be an Earth Day concert, which will be a tribute to Mother Earth and a renewal of dedication to efforts in raising awareness and concern over the worldwide environmental crises, said Sibbaluca.

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DENR-8 has also continued with its coral reefs assessment in three sites in the region, as part of the nationwide Sustainable Coral Reef Ecosystem Management Program for the protection and rehabilitation of coral reefs, declared as Marine Key Biodiversity Areas.

Sibbaluca said the program covers MKBAs, particularly the 33 Marine Protected Areas, established under the National Integrated Protected Areas System, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and other government agencies.

The three MPAs in the region, covered by the program are: Guiuan Marine Reserve Protected Landscape or Seascape in Guiuan, Eastern Samar with 60,448 hectares; Biri-LAROSA Protected Landscape/Seascape in Northern Samar (33,492 has); and Cuatro islas Protected Landscape/Seascape in Inopacan and Hindang towns in Leyte (12,500 has).

Sibbaluca said coral reefs are the “Rainforest of the Seas,” which contribute 70 percent of the total fishery production, highly significant to human welfare, particularly to the well-being of millions of Filipinos.

The annual observance of Earth Day began in 1970 when more than 20 million Americans, mostly students, took to the streets, parks and auditoriums calling for a healthy and sustainable environment. The rally prompted the US Congress to pass the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, along with the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in the USA.

In the Philippines, President Corazon Aquino issued Proclamation No. 553 on April 16, 1990 in support for Earth Day, which was also launched on April 22, that same year.

Source: philstar.com - Region