Toyota reforestation project to augment
Sierra Madre typhoon barrier
With at least 20 typhoons expected to make landfall in the Philippines in 2011, it is timely that reforestation efforts such as Toyota’s Philippine Peñablanca Sustainable Reforestation Project (PPSRP) are in place to soften their impact.
Situated within the Sierra Madre mountain range in Cagayan province, the PPSRP is a joint endeavor of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Conservation International.
Local automotive manufacturer Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP) is actively supporting the project as part of its own commitment to the preservation of the environment and to community development in the country.
Every year since the project started, TMP team members – representing both labor and management – trek to Peñablanca and together plant trees in the protected zone.
Launched in 2007 in tandem with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Peñablanca local government, over 1,772 hectares of land have been planted over, to restore the natural forest by planting indigenous species and developing agroforestry with mango trees.
In doing so, PPSRP will become one of Northern Luzon’s strategic lines of defense against rampaging floods and landslides.
This revitalized forest is expected to act as a buffer against heavy rains and strong winds in the future.
In 2009, the project’s development was validated at the Gold level under the international Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Project Design Standards. CCB Standards globally promote land-based projects providing climate change mitigation, community benefits, and biodiversity conservation.
The revived forest will play an integral part in restoring the delicate ecological balance of the region, supporting a biologically-diverse ecosystem while decreasing the damage wrought by drought and flooding.
In October 2010, as Typhoon Juan ravaged Northern Luzon, the PPSRP site weathered the storm with minimal damage.
With over one million indigenous and fruit trees planted onsite, less than 1 percent had been affected.
Project staff recently completed the installation of support poles to hold up the leaning trees, while replanting efforts are still underway.
PPSRP’s fruit trees also act as a means of sustainable livelihood for the area’s residents.
According to TMC Biotechnology & Afforestation Business Division project coordinator Yoshiaki Ishii, "The good thing is that only 80 mango trees were damaged (by Typhoon Juan).
We are aiming at the establishment of a sustainable reforestation model, and mango production is a key factor for this model."
With mango cultivation as a viable alternative to charcoal-making, the project will also sustain the quality of life for both people and vegetation in the area.
Through PPSRP, Toyota and its strategic partners are playing a key role for the restoration of the delicate balance between man and nature.