The Coca-Cola Foundation has provided funding to Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. One to Tree (RAFI OTT) program to spread kindness and care towards local watersheds in Cebu.
With the $184,801funding from the foundation, the RAFI OTT will implement a tree growing and watershed conservation program in Kotkot-Lusaran, Cebu. Titled “Agas Program,” the project aims to conserve watersheds through reforestation with native trees and biodiversity conservation, planting and monitoring 200,000 native seedlings of mixed timber and fruit species.
With the program appropriately named “Agas,” the Cebuano term for “flow”, it strategically addresses the country’s forest cover loss and water crisis. Located in the Municipality of Balamban, Cebu, the Kotkot-Lusaran Watershed Forest Reserveis part of the Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL) which plays a key role for the province’s water generation and supply. The Kotkot catchment is the second largest within the CCPL, which is shared by the municipalities of Liloan, Compostela, and Consolacion, and the cities of Cebu and Danao.
To implement the Agas Program, RAFI OTT will work closely with local stakeholders and communities on reforestation efforts and provision of alternative livelihood.
Tree growing partners will be encouraged to adapt total farm development, including practices that promote multi-level canopy plantation. The program will provide extensive training and technical assistance to local tree growing partners, which include site planning and development, seedling production and nursery management, plantation establishment and maintenance, and monitoring and assessment training.
The Agas Program will run for four years from January 2022 to December 2025 with community partners located in Brgy. Ginatilan, Cabasiangan, Matun-og, Sunog, Bayong, Duangan, and Gaas in the Municipality of Balamban.
