Last December 17, the Sulu Garden Foundation, Inc. (SGF) and the World Agroforestry (ICRAF) held a meeting to discuss the long-term sustainability of the “Re-Greening of Panay: Reforesting the Philippines – One Island at a Time” initiative. The project of the SGF aims to reforest over 200,000 hectares of denuded forest land through innovative seedball technology, island-wide collaboration, and utilization of drone technology. 

 

 

 

The “Re-Greening of Panay” is a five-year plan to rehabilitate the greenery of Panay island in a more cost-efficient and rapid approach. Seedballs encase seeds of native trees suitable for reforestation areas. During the dry season, the seedballs are dispersed to be ready for germination in the rainy season.  The seedballs are further developed by the SGF to become lighter for drone dispersion. To find out more, watch our project introduction through this link:     Re Greening of Panay (Project Introduction)

Seedball production at SGF.

As part of the island-wide collaboration, SGF corresponded with the ICRAF for the rationale on sustainability of forest management. ICRAF is the only global institution specializing in agroforestry research for developing tropics. The non-profit institution provides knowledge to governments, development organizations, and farmers to improve farming and livelihoods in a more social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Visit their website at https://www.cifor-icraf.org/.

SGF Chairman Jonathan R. Matias presenting the seedballs developed by SGF to the ICRAF team

SGF Chairman Jonathan R. Matias and ICRAF Agroforestry and Landscape Modeler Rachmat Mulia led the discussion on the urgent actions to take regarding the reforestation project. The agenda of the meeting emphasized both organizations’ overview to strengthen partnership and roles. In relation to this, SGF and ICRAF will review the progress and the discussed proposal for sustainability on the “Re-Greening of Panay” by January 2025. ICRAF will herein provide baseline systems and knowledge on the decentralization of forest management. The future of the reforestation project is highlighted by its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on biodiversity, climate change adaptation, and livelihood improvement.

Collaborating for a Greener Future: SGF and ICRAF Meet to Advance “Re-Greening of Panay” Project

Moving forward, SGF continues to advance its Community-based Forest Management (CBFM) proposal and coordinate with various environmental agencies such as ICRAF to ensure the long-term sustainability of the “Re-Greening of Panay” project. The sharing of expertise through SGF-initiated meetings and discussions offers fresh perspectives on tackling underlying constraints based on the experiences of other organizations. Both the SGF and ICRAF are excited about the collaboration in 2025.

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