TACLOBAN CITY — A renewable energy company based in Eastern Samar said it will plant 4 million giant bamboo in Samar island's protected area to provide livelihood to mountain residents and encourage them to do away with slash and burn farming.
Benjie Picardo, president of Taft Hydro Energy Corporation, said the company will start planting the bamboo on February 2023 with 10,000 propagules in 50 hectares within the Samar Island National Park, a 333,300-hectare protected area that straddles the center of the island.
The initiative is part of the company's corporate social responsibility and will be implemented in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources regional office, according to Picardo.
"Bamboo is the most voracious plant in terms of carbon sequestration. I have no idea why we should not be promoting it since it is easy to grow and it spreads quickly," he told Daily Tribune.
Picardo said the bamboo will not only protect watersheds but will also create a huge social impact in terms of the alternate livelihood provided to the hundreds of residents who are cutting trees for charcoal-making, which is their main source of livelihood.
He said the plan is to plant 4 million giant bamboo to cover 19,000 hectares of the protected area within the next few years. The company is already undertaking a similar initiative in Bukidnon.
"The beauty of bamboo is it helps reduce global warming while creating a new industry that will give jobs to the people without harming the environment," Picardo said. "They can be harvested in four to five years, and they further spread with new rhizomes even when you harvest them."
THEC is also planning to put up a factory for bamboo processing when the company is done planting two million propagules. Picardo said this will not only generate more employment but will also increase the value of the harvest.
"Engineered bamboo can be used as construction material due to its characteristics, like its high tensile strength," he pointed out.
THEC is running a 16-megawatt hydro power plant in Taft, Eastern Samar and has started the construction of another 14-megawatt hydro power in the same municipality targeted to be completed in September next year.
The company said it will also build an 80-MW solar farm in the same municipality next year.
