West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. kicked off its annual Plant for Life program with a commitment to plant its one-millionth tree within the year.
This milestone will be reached once the target of planting 90,000 trees in 2022 is completed, thus serving as a highlight to Maynilad’s 15th anniversary as a re-privatized company.
Plant for Life is the flagship environmental conservation program of Maynilad, which aims to recover denuded watersheds and thus protect the water supply of millions of consumers.
It rallies volunteers from the public and private sector to help recover forestlands through the annual planting of trees.
Originally conceptualized to reforest the watersheds in Angat, Ipo and La Mesa, this tree-planting initiative later became a multi-site reforestation program that included areas along the Manila Bay coast and Laguna Lake. Since the program’s inception in 2007, Maynilad has already planted more than 923,000 indigenous trees and mangroves covering a land area of 573 hectares.
“Planting a tree may seem simple enough. However, its impact can be tremendous as far as watershed protection is concerned. The more denuded forestlands we can recover, the better our chances of improving water security, and providing a sustainable environment for future generations,” said Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez.
Tree planting also helps with carbon sequestration, which is essential to reducing the greenhouse gases that lead to global warming. Through “Plant for Life”, Maynilad has been able to reduce its carbon emissions by around 25,000 tons per year. Together with the rest of the MVP Group of Companies, Maynilad is aiming to be Climate Neutral by year 2037.
