Tiwi Residents Volunteer as Forest Stewards

TIWI, Albay, July 31- A total of 1,400 residents of this small town that plays host to a vast geothermal energy field have signed up as volunteer forest stewards under the Lingap Kalikasan (care for nature) Movement (LKM) organized as a forest conservation project by the municipal government.

The project also banded together the local government unit (LGU), the Catholic Church, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, National Power Corporation (Napocor), Chevron Geothermal Philippines Holding Inc. (CGPHI) and non-government organizations into a multi-partite forest stewardship council, town mayor Jaime Villanueva on Friday said.

"These 1,400 is so far the initial number of residents who have signed up to serve as forest stewards and help control the rapid degradation of our forest cover due to illegal practices and the operations of the geothermal power generation facilities of CGPHI. We expect more volunteers from the barangays as the project moves along," Villanueva said.

CGPHI that is formerly known as Philippine Geothermal Inc. (PGI) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron Corp. of US that developed the vast geothermal field here into a leading provider of renewable energy in the country.

Presently, CGPHI's steam plants in the locality run at around 175 megawatts of energy being supplied to the power generating plants newly acquired by Aboitiz Power Renewables Inc.(APRI) from the Napocor.

The transfer of the power generating plants from the government-owned and controlled corporation to APRI was part of the government's move to privatize the country's power industry under the Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management (PSALM).

The LKM volunteers who are now called "Kaibigan ng Kalikasan (Friends of Nature)" vowed to safeguard not only the forest but the environment as a whole from abuses and malpractices that could trigger catastrophic effects if left unchecked, the mayor said.

"This is one of our environmental conservation measures designed to lessen if not totally eradicate malpractices involving our forest resources inside and outside the geothermal reservation sites," Villanueva said.

Trees in the area are being illegally cut for furniture-making, lumber for construction materials and charcoal for fuel.

During the launching of the movement over the week, Villanueva said a forum was held and participants were given pointers on forest stewardship and informed of the environmental and economic impacts of forest degradation.

At the end of the day, the volunteers planted seedlings of different endemic tree species at the old geothermal-well sites. Over 1,500 seedlings provided by the DENR were planted on sites prepared by the Napocor watershed group and LGU.

The forest stewardship council hopes that through this campaign, local residents will proactively do their share in looking after the environment.

"We are optimistic that initiatives like the LKM will prolong the lifespan of the country's renewable-energy resources," the mayor said.

Geothermal facilities are dependent on forest and water reservoirs to sustain operations and the movement complements the initiative of CGPHI's Tiwi Asset to contribute in addressing climate change through a tree-planting program, dubbed 7-2-3155.

Launched in August 2008, the program promoted the planting and maintenance of over 700 endemic-tree species at a landslide-prone slope of the geothermal reservation through synergistic partnership among teams and program partners.

The electricity produced by the Tiwi geothermal power operations is sold to the Luzon power grid, providing clean energy to fuel the growth of the country's economy, Villanueva added. (PNA)