The DENR CALABARZON through its Conservation and Development Division (CDD) conducted a Writeshop on Carbon Sequestration Study within National Greening Program (NGP) sites in Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL) last August 11-12, 2022 at Hotel Caciana, Tagaytay City, Cavite.

The said activity aims to capacitate technical personnel of the Office on data analysis, facilitate the consolidation of preliminary data/results of the filed data collection and laboratory analyses conducted, and prepare the required narrative documentation prior to its finalization per Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) Technical Bulletin No. 2021-01: Whole-Ecosystem Carbon Stocks and Sequestration Assessment.

Carbon sequestration shows promises in reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for climate change mitigation. It involves prevention of carbon dioxide (CO2) from entering the atmosphere through storage of CO2 in carbon pools in ecosystems. Forests, soils, and oceans are some of the examples of carbon pools.

According to For. Mailene Gecolea-Laviña, In-Charge of the CDD, UMRBPL has the largest area of National Greening Program sites among the Protected Areas in the Region. Hence, the site was selected for the conduct of the study. To date, a total of 18,723.31 hectares of NGP plantation within the UMRBPL had been established.

The study focuses on determining the status of the Protected Area in terms of carbon sequestration given the implementation of NGP since 2011. In 2021, a total of 181,875 indigenous species, 33,320 timber species, and 163,404 bamboo culms were planted inside Upper Marikina under the enhanced NGP, through the help of various People’s Organizations.

On the other hand, Regional Executive Director Nilo B. Tamoria recognized the significance of carbon sequestration especially in the development of conservation projects in Upper Marikina. “If we have this data, malaki ang maitutulong ng pag-aaral na ito sa pagkakaroon natin ng baseline data para sa PA Management”, he said.

Meanwhile, PENRO Rizal Technical Services Division Chief Ernesto Diso, Jr also acknowledged the guidance and assistance provided by the ERDB in the conduct of the study. “Of course, we recognize ERDB and CDD for being very supportive of PENRO Rizal. After five weeks of field data collection, naandito na tayo for the consolidation and analysis of our results and hopefully ay maging successful ang ating study”, Diso said.

DENR CALABARZON is closely working with the ERDB for the finalization of the study. The results of the study will serve as a benchmark for other conservation and greening efforts in Protected Areas in the Region. ###

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Parent Category: News & Events
Category: Press Releases
Published: 18 August 2022