GenSan allots Php2.9-M for greening project

 

http://gensantoday.blogspot.com/2014_09_01_archive.html

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 15 (PNA) -- The city government has allocated around Php2.9 million for the rehabilitation and “greening” of some 284 hectares of land in parts of the area.

City Councilor Ramon Milleza said they are studying a proposed agreement with a tribal non-government organization for the implementation of the project in seven barangays in the city.

He said the move is in line with a request from City Mayor Ronnel Rivera for the issuance of an authority to facilitate the finalization of the deal with the Indigenous People’s Alliance Movement (IPAM) of Gensan, Inc.

Under the agreement, Milleza said the local government will provide the necessary funding for the project, which will be implemented by IPAM.

“The project will be implemented under the National Greening Program (NGP) of the city government,” he said.

It will be a part of the city’s contributions to the NGP, which aims to plant 1.5 billion tree seedlings production in 1.5 million hectares of lands in the entire country by the end of 2016, he said.

The official said the initiative mainly aims to develop the city’s forestlands; mangrove areas and protected areas; ancestral domain; civil and military reservations; and, other urban areas that are covered by the greening plan of the local government.

It will later expand to inactive and abandoned mine sites, riverbanks, streambanks and other suitable public lands, he said.

He said the project will specifically cover identified areas in Barangays Olympog, San Jose, Bawing, Mabuhay, Upper Labay, Sinawal and Conel.

Milleza said the initiative is expected to benefit the constituents of the city and boost the city government’s environmental conservation and protection programs.

He added that it will also complement with other priority programs of the local government like poverty reduction and food security.(PNA)
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