The beautiful tropical island nation in the Pacific, the Philippines, will now require by law that all graduating students from elementary school plant 10 trees in order to get a degree.
The passing of the bill known as Graduation Legacy for the Environment Act was approved in the House and is now in the Senate for action.
According to the proponents of this law, this is a great chance for the youth in The Philippines to address climate change and help create a greener surrounding for their generation and future ones.
Continue reading the article to learn more about this great law and what the proponents hope it will achieve.
Students Need to Plant Trees If They Want to Graduate
As noted by the House bill, authored by the representative Gary Alejano, the education system will in this way help encourage sustainable and ethical use of natural resources among youngsters and help create conscious and responsible citizens.
Alejano’s estimates indicate that over one generation, the bill will help plant 525 billion trees.
This number comes from more than 12 million students graduating on a yearly basis from elementary school, 5 million from high school, and 500,000 from college, which equals to 175 million trees planted per year.
The law points out that these trees can be planted in forests, urban areas, protected areas, mangroves, military and civil reservations, ancestral domains, abandoned and inactive mine sites, and other appropriate lands.
What Kind of Trees Will Students Plant?
The main focus will be to plant indigenous species that match with the topography and climate of the area.
Many agencies in the Philippines government will help establish nurseries, site identification, evaluating, monitoring, and technical help.
Deforestation, a Major Issue in The Philippines
The Philippines are comprised of 7,461 islands in Southeast Asia and unfortunately, deforestation has been a major environmental problem there.
Namely, the development of agriculture has caused a significant drop in forests. According to estimates, the percentage of reduction was from 70 to 20.
Experts believe that this law could be a major improvement which will help Philippines fight off the net loss of trees. Moreover, it is an amazing message for Filipino youth and helping them realize the value of positive action and impact.
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