The Philippines is a collection of 7,641 islands in Southeast Asia. Across those islands, widespread development and agriculture have led to a significant drop in forested areas. So much so, that an estimated 24.2 million acres of forests were cut down from 1934 to 1988, primarily from logging. Meaning, the country’s forested area dropped from 70% to just 20% during the 20th century. It’s one of the world’s most severely deforested countries.

To this day, illegal logging remains a problem for the country. To make matters worse, the lack of trees in some areas has exacerbated the risk and the impacts of floods and landslides. To rectify this situation, the Philippines’ government has created and passed a new law requiring students to plant at least ten trees if they want to graduate.

The aim is for the implementation of this new law to be the turning point whereby the Philippines switches from net loss to net gain of trees. Also, the bill has great potential for long term positive impact because of its simple and powerful message to the Filipino youth – the environment is essential!

The Law And Implementation

House Bill 8728, or the “Graduation Legacy for the Environment Act,” which has been approved by the House of Representatives, is principally authored by MAGDALO Party-list Representative Gary Alejano and Cavite 2nd District Representative Strike Revilla. The bill makes it mandatory for all graduating elementary, high school, and college students to plant at least ten trees each before they can graduate.

Alejano said:

“With over 12 million students graduating from elementary and nearly five million students graduating from high school and almost 500,000 graduating from college each year, this initiative, if properly implemented, will ensure that at least 175 million new trees would be planted each year. In the course of one generation, no less than 525 billion can be planted under this initiative. Even with a survival rate of only 10 per cent, this would mean an additional 525 million trees would be available for the youth to enjoy, when they assume the mantle of leadership in the future.”

The law states that trees are to be located in:

Forests

Mangroves and protected areas

Ancestral domains

Civil and military reservations

Urban areas

Inactive and abandoned mine sites

other suitable lands

The species selected for planting must be appropriate to each location, climate, and topography of the area and there will also be a preference for indigenous species. The country’s Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education will together implement and ensure compliance with the bill; in partnership with the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and other government agencies.

These agencies will be responsible for nursery establishment, seedling production and site preparation, monitoring and evaluation, and technical support and extension services. They will also be responsible for providing security, transportation, fire protection amenities, and medical support.

The legislation will hopefully help the present moment through the immediate carbon-absorbing impact of the trees, as well as the future by providing an environmental understanding to future generations and by inspiring further ecological initiatives.

Alejano said:

“To this end, the educational system shall be a locus for propagating ethical and sustainable use of natural resources among the young to ensure the cultivation of a socially-responsible and conscious citizenry.”

All in all, this is a wonderful opportunity for Filipino youth to help tackle the climate crisis and build a greener environment for their generation and future generations to come!