ILOILO CITY – The provincial government is eyeing Iloilo to become a forest province within the next 20 years.
“We want Iloilo to be a forest province, not only by declaration but in the most concrete and practical results and targets together with our partners and stakeholders,” said Gov. Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr.
ILOILO Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. hands over seedlings to Mayor Jon Aying of Sara town during the kick-off ceremony for the 3rd Provincial Environmental Awareness Month. (Iloilo Capitol PIO)
Speaking at the kickoff of the 3rd Provincial Environmental Awareness Month, Defensor said that the forest province status by 2044 is anchored on pushing Iloilo to have a climate-resilient ecosystem that can have sustainable food production.
Defensor also led the launching of his flagship programs Tanum Iloilo for MoRProGRes, Balik Alat 2.0, and Project Liso that seeks to preserve natural resources through a community-based and multisectoral approach.
Tanum Iloilo for MoRProGRes is the provincial government’s reforestation program. It aims to develop integrated social forest project as a resource base for food security and tourism as well as and engaging the public and private stakeholders to optimize tree growing.