Marubeni Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) regarding a project to develop a carbon credit program through reforestation with Department of Environment and Natural Resources ("DENR"), DACON Corporation, majority owner of DMCI Holdings, Inc., and the University of the Philippines College of Forestry and Natural Resources.
This will be the first effort to develop a carbon credit program through reforestation in the Philippines in collaboration with Secretary Loyzaga, DENR representing the public, private, and academic sectors.
Bild: MOU signing ceremony (From the left in the back row, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, Chairman of DACON, Isidro Consunji, General Manager Tsuyoshi Teragaki, Forest Products Division, Marubeni. H.E. Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., President of the Philippines is in the center of the front row.)
In the Philippines, approximately 70% of the country's land was covered by forests at the beginning of the 20th century, but due to excessive logging, conversion to agricultural land, and other factors, the forest area had decreased to just over 20% by 2020. Deforestation is a major cause of natural disaster risks facing the Philippines, such as landslides and flood damage; thus, reforestation is an urgent issue.
The project aims to restore biodiversity, create employment in local communities, and establish a carbon credit program through carbon absorption and sequestration by forests. Marubeni will propel reforestation in Negros Occidental, the Philippines, and the framework of the carbon credit program.
