MANILA, Philippines — Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is eyeing to develop an 80-hectare mangrove plantation in Paombong, Bulacan in line with its reforestation initiatives.
In a statement, SMC said the San Miguel-Paombong Mangrove Plantation and Sanctuary project includes the expansion of the Bulakan Mangrove Ecopark in Brgy. Taliptip – where the New Manila International Airport project is set to rise – and the planting of seven million trees in at least seven provinces nationwide.
The company is in the initial stages of developing the first 20 hectares of the mangrove project, which is located near the coastline of Barangay Masukol.
“We initially identified 20 hectares for this project and we are carefully studying the site in consultation with a mangrove expert to ensure that we will address potential challenges and ensure the mangroves’ long-term growth, so they can benefit both current and future generations,” said SMC president RAmon S. Ang.
SMC said an estimated 2,500 mangrove propagules would be planted per hectare,which can host as many as 200,000 mangrove trees.
“This is more than the 190,000 mangroves that the company initially targeted last year at the start of its mangrove planting activities in Bulacan,”SMC said
Meanwhile, Ang said SMC employee volunteers are set to plant 10,000 mangroves at the Bulakan Mangrove Ecopark next month.
The Bulakan Mangrove Ecopark, a 24.5-hectare mangrove area located at Sitio Wawang Capiz in Barangay Taliptip, is jointly maintained by the local government of Bulakan and SMC.
The planting activity will bring to 16,000 the new mangroves being grown by SMC at the Bulakan Ecopark site. This is in addition to 13,000 already in place in the coastal areas of Hagonoy and Obando.
“Planting is just the first step. Making sure that these mangroves grow to adulthood is the bigger challenge and will involve the community, especially those that will benefit from it. In combination with our upcoming river dredging and cleanup projects in Bulacan and further emphasis on proper waste disposal, we can both safeguard the marine environment and address flooding in the province,”Ang said.
SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMCGP), the company’s power unit, earlier launched a project targeting to plant seven million upland trees and mangroves over 4,000 hectares of land in at least seven provinces.
Since the project started in 2019, SMCGP’s volunteers, along with some 24 local farmer and fisherfolk organizations, have already planted, and are caring for a total of 3,027,302 seedlings and propagules as of Aug. 15 this year.This project covers Zambales, Davao Occidental, Bataan, Negros Occidental, Pangasinan, Albay, Quezon, and Bulacan.
San Miguel Brewery, Inc. has also planted an estimated one million trees under the Trees Brew Life program for the last 10 years, in areas that include Bacolod City, Tagoloan City in Misamis Oriental, Sta. Rosa in Laguna, and Mandaue City.
Volunteers from Ginebra San Miguel Inc., together with community stakeholders, are also taking care of 40,000 full-grown trees across 12 hectares of land in Bago City, Negros Occidental, where its Distileria Bago Inc. (DBI) is also undertaking a two-hectare expansion of the forest.
Petron Corp. also aims to plant at least 50,000 seedlings as part of its proposed 10-year biodiversity conservation efforts for the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape.
In support of the government’s national greening program, Petron has planted over one million trees and mangroves nationwide since 2000.
The company has also adopted a total of 30 hectares of mangrove reforestation areas in Tacloban City, Leyte and Roxas City, Capiz under its Puno ng Buhay program.