BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan confirmed that the inventory of trees in the different parts of the city is now being undertaken by personnel of the environment department in coordination with the employees of the City Environment and Parks Management Office.
Aside from the on-going inventory of trees upon orders of Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, the local chief executive also directed CEPMO personnel to conduct a separate inventory of the trees that have been planted by those who were required by the local government to do so as compensatory requirement for the trees that were cut and the survival rate of the planted trees so that the city will have a database on the compliance of applicants for emergency tree cutting permit to the conditions of their issued permits.
Domogan confirmed that the regional, provincial and city offices of the environment department were given one month to complete the inventory of trees in public and private properties in the different parts of the city pursuant to the mandate handed down by Secretary Cimatu.
“We support the ongoing conduct of an inventory on the number of trees in public and private places in the city with the hope that we will be able to formulate appropriate strategies on how to sustain and preserve the trees, especially the aging ones that are prone to infestation. We also want our CEPMO personnel to also conduct an inventory of the trees that were planted by applicants of emergency tree cutting permits and those which were planted by individuals and groups that actively participated in the local government’s aggressive reforestation effort,” Domogan stressed.
Under existing laws, rules and regulations, local chief executives are authorized to issue emergency tree cutting permits to applicants of the same, provided that, the trees that are to be cut are dead, infested or those that pose a serious threat to life and limb.
He explained that the data that will be gathered by CEPMO personnel and those from the regional, provincial and city offices of the environment department will definitely serve as a basis in the formulation of the necessary guidelines in ascertaining the programs, projects and activities that should be implemented by the concerned government agencies and the local government to ensure the increase in the number of grown up trees that will help in sustaining and improving the state of the city’s environment.
Earlier, Secretary Cimatu expressed concern over the increasing number of dying pine trees in the different parts of the city and ordered personnel of the environment department to conduct an inventory on the number of trees in the city to facilitate the agency in formulating programs that will contribute in efforts to preserve and protect the trees and the overall state of the environment in the country’s undisputed Summer Capital.
One of the issues affecting the growth of the trees in the different parts of the city is the supposed infestation that continues to threaten live and healthy trees, thus, the need for the infested ones to be immediately cut to avoid the same from infesting the healthy ones that could result to more damage to the environment.
By Dexter A. See
Banner photo by: Armando M. Bolislis
