EDC Bacman forester Neil Miras explains the step-by-step process of the VMR technology at the inauguration ceremonyEnergy Development Corporation (EDC) launched a one-hectare vegetative materials reproduction (VMR) facility at the heart of its BaconManito (Bacman) Geothermal Project in Manito, Albay on April 28.

The facility is EDC’s sixth automated nursery that propagates endangered native trees recovered from various places across the country. It will provide the requirements of the company’s stakeholders, especially its BINHI partners in the region, for endemic and native tree species.

EDC assistant vice president and corporate relations and communications head Atty. Allan Barcena, in his message during the inauguration program, said the VMR project was an offshoot of EDC’s BINHI project.

“One of the main goals of EDC’s banner environmental program, BINHI, is to mainstream and bring back Philippine endangered native tree species. We are working on achieving this goal with a complete value chain that addresses the extinction of these precious Philippine trees,” Barcena said.

The one-hectare EDC-Bacman VMR nursery has the capacity to produce around 260,000 seedlings of native trees at any given time including the site’s flagship tree species, mapilig.

“Propagating native tree seedlings is crucial to growing our Philippine forests. For us to have enough seedlings, we need to establish forest tree nurseries. Aside from the challenge of the rarity of the species, a majority of these forest trees are too sensitive to grow and propagate. To address this, the BINHI team has developed this nursery technology that will suit the requirements and attain a high survival rate for our precious native trees,” Barcena explained.

To date EDC has already produced more than 1 million seedlings of native tree species through the VMR nurseries in its geothermal sites in Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Mt. Apo, Leyte and Antipolo, and established propagation protocols for 28 threatened tree species.

“The municipal and provincial governments are also focused on the greening efforts similar with EDC’s,” Sorsogon City vice mayor Mark Eric Dioneda affirmed. “We have a project called ‘Tanging Yaman,’ a million-treeplanting program, which started five years ago. We are encouraging all the municipalities in the province to plant one million trees per municipality.”

Among the native and endemic tree species that can be found at the new VMR facility are ipil, katmon, white lauan, banuyo, quisumbing gisok and nato.

(Story/Photos by: Jolly Jamoralin)