• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Negros Occidental provincial government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Negros Island Region (DENR-NIR) have formalized a 25-year partnership to rehabilitate and maintain a 547-hectare bamboo plantation within the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park in Murcia under the government’s Enhanced National Greening Program (ENGP).
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and DENR-NIR Regional Executive Director Charlie Fabre signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) on July 1, marking the provincial government’s adoption of the ENGP bamboo plantation located in Sitio Guinam-an, Barangay Minoyan, Murcia.
The agreement aims to enhance and enrich the bamboo plantation while promoting environmental sustainability, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihood opportunities for local communities.
Under the MOA, the provincial government committed to maintain the 547-hectare plantation for agroforestry purposes, including the sustainable use of bamboo as a commodity while ensuring the continuous nurturing and protection of the plantation throughout the duration of the project.
The DENR-NIR will provide technical guidance, monitoring, and ensure compliance with environmental laws and protected area regulations governing Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park.
The partnership is anchored on Executive Order No. 193, which expanded the National Greening Program into the Enhanced National Greening Program, recognizing it as a government priority to promote sustainable development, poverty reduction, food security, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The agreement also underscores the government’s policy of harnessing the combined efforts of national agencies, local government units, civil society organizations, and the private sector to achieve successful implementation of greening and rural development programs.
The adoption of the plantation was endorsed by the Protected Area Management Board of Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park through Resolution No. 5, Series of 2026, approved during its meeting on Jan. 15, 2026.
Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park is a protected area established under Republic Act No. 9154 and is managed by the Protected Area Management Board chaired by the DENR regional executive director.
The collaboration is expected to strengthen forest rehabilitation efforts, enhance the long-term protection of the protected area, and contribute to sustainable natural resource management while creating economic opportunities for communities through responsible agroforestry practices. | GPB
