AboitizPower’s Therma Visayas, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, and partner farmers across Cebu work toward their goal of planting one million trees, with 770,000 already planted as of end-2023.
Aboitiz Power Corporation marked Earth Month by recognizing its business units around the country that have made a concerted effort to empower year-round efforts to plant over two million trees.
AboitizPower subsidiaries Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI) and Therma South Inc. (TSI) have both been actively working towards planting one million trees each within their host communities. TVI, now in the seventh year of its Carbon Sink Management Program, has already planted 770,000 trees in Cebu. TSI embarked on its own Carbon Sink Management Program a year earlier. Recently, it realized its goal of planting one million trees in Davao, including areas covering the ancestral domains of indigenous peoples (IP).
These initiatives by AboitizPower subsidiaries demonstrate the company’s commitment to sustainability by acknowledging the multifaceted benefits of trees to the well-being of our ecosystem. By providing sustenance, economic opportunities, and habitats for wildlife, trees play a vital role in sustaining life on our planet. They also contribute to energy conservation, water preservation, and heat absorption, making them a valuable asset to our environment.
Carbon Sink Management Programs
One of the most significant qualities of trees is their ability to act as natural carbon sinks, absorbing more carbon dioxide than they produce while releasing oxygen into the air. This crucial function helps reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, making trees a vital component in the fight against climate change.
TVI and TSI’s Carbon Sink Management Programs also highlight the importance of collaboration and community engagement in driving environmental and socioeconomic change. By working together with local stakeholders, AboitizPower has fostered strong bonds and a sense of shared responsibility, ultimately contributing to a healthier planet for future generations.
In partnership with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation and 277 local farmers in Cebu, TVI’s ambitious 10-year Carbon Sink Management Program laid down roots in 2016. To date, this initiative has resulted in the successful planting and nurturing of 770,000 trees.
By the end of 2023, the program had expanded to cover a staggering 1,084 hectares of land, encompassing nine municipalities and cities in Cebu, including Balamban, Toledo, Borbon, Asturias, Barili, Tuburan, Pinamungahan, Ronda, and Dumanjug.
One of the key benefits of this program is the economic empowerment of partner farmers, who receive payments for their seedlings and maintenance services, as well as additional income streams from the harvest of fruit-bearing and high-value trees.
Since 2017, a diverse range of native tree species have been planted, including Narra, Lanutan, Kakaw, Coffee, Lomboy, Nangka, Guyabano, Rambutan, Lanzones, Avocado, Kunawom, Tugas/Molave, Duhat, Labana, Lemonsito/Kalamansi, Malaruhat, Sangil, Agoho del Monte, Caimito, Conalum, and Taguilomboy, which will provide a rich source of fruit and timber in the years to come.
Meanwhile, TSI worked closely with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, the Matigsalug Council of Elders Marilog District Davao City, Inc., and the Matigsalug Manobo Tribal People Council of Elders Davao, Inc. to achieve its one millionth tree milestone in the Marilog District. The joint effort led to the successful planting of a diverse range of trees, including endemic, fruit-bearing, and high-value species, covering an area of over 845 hectares of the indigenous people’s ancestral land.
TSI and the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation also organized a series of technical training sessions, focusing on the essential skills of farm planning; nursery establishment and seedling production; site preparation and plantation establishment; and plantation maintenance and monitoring. Additionally, the collaboration with the local public agriculture office is expected to open up new opportunities for the indigenous people, including training in cacao production, marketing, and networking, ultimately enhancing their skills and capacities.
In Davao City’s Matina Aplaya, the 8-hectare Aboitiz Cleanergy Park in Punta Dumalag has become a thriving urban oasis, dedicated to reducing carbon emissions in the urban area. This eco-friendly haven features a mangrove reforestation site, a nursery, and a botanical garden for the propagation of several native tree species. As a result, the park has attracted a wide variety of bird species, including migrants, residents, and localized endemics, which now call it home.
Since 2013, when the University of the Philippines Mindanao and the University of Southeastern Philippines recommended the park’s development, a collaborative effort between the public and private sectors has worked to increase the park’s tree population. This, in turn, has resulted in a remarkable surge in bird species, from just five in 2015 to 106 in 2023.
Bird enthusiasts who regularly visit the park have observed that the growing number of trees has provided a corresponding increase in food and shelter, attracting a greater diversity of bird species. The park’s habitat conservation efforts, combined with effective biodiversity management, have created a haven for these birds, especially since there is limited human presence in the area. The AboitizPower subsidiary Davao Light and Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. jointly manage this urban sanctuary.
Mangrove Restoration and Protection
Up north, GNPower Mariveles Energy Center Ltd. Co. (GMEC) continued to drive its five-year mangrove adoption and protection project in Bataan. Activities included a two-day workshop and a planting activity.
In 2023, GMEC signed a memorandum of agreement for the “5 Hectares Orani Mangrove Adoption and Protection Project”, a Php6.8-million undertaking that aims to revitalize the existing mangrove areas in a designated five-hectare zone. The project period of five years is subject to a possible extension.
A recent workshop facilitated by GMEC and Wetlands International Philippines, brought together 46 attendees from the Provincial Government of Bataan, relevant local government offices, and the Tubo-Tubo Fisherfolks Association to discuss best practices in mangrove conservation and restoration.
Following the workshop, a team of 35 volunteers from the Tubo-Tubo Fisherfolks Association planted 1,000 mangrove saplings in GMEC’s adopted area in Tubo-Tubo, Sitio Pulo, Barangay Kabalutan, Orani, Bataan. This collaborative effort involving the Provincial Government of Bataan, the Municipality of Orani, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the fisherfolk stakeholders, will contribute to GMEC’s flagship environmental program called P.R.O.G.R.E.S.S. The initiative will focus on the letters “P” and “R”, which stand for “Protect marine life” and “Reforest land”, respectively.
Cultivating a greener future is a commitment that AboitizPower takes to heart. For the nation’s leading provider of renewable energy, commemorating Earth Month is about working together with all its partners and neighbors to spark positive environmental change for a better world.
Source: AboitizPower harnesses the power of partnership to plant over 2M trees