Automotive leader Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) expands its nature conservation efforts with its upland tree planting in a 50-hectare adopted area in Siniloan, Laguna.

The company recently mobilized a group of volunteers to plant 1,000 native tree seedlings with the aim of boosting potential livelihood source for the locals, enhancing biodiversity and developing future carbon sinks at the same time.

Fifty-six volunteers representing TMP’s workforce, GT Capital Holdings Inc., Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-Community Environment and Natural Resources Office Sta. Cruz, Laguna, and the People’s Organization of Siniloan (POS) ascended to the uplands of Barangay Magsaysay that is part of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range.

This terrestrial site is part of a critical ecosystem, being home to the Philippines’ oldest forests and a habitat for megadiverse endemic flora and fauna.

This initiative converges with the DENR’s National Greening Program (NGP), a massive forest rehabilitation program aimed at reducing poverty, promoting food security, conserving biodiversity and mitigating climate change in the country.

In its five-year implementation of the site’s reforestation, TMP shall provide upfront financial compensation to the POS for every hectare that local members will nurture, monitor and maintain.

Upon successful completion with a high survival rate, the tree species that were selected by the DENR are expected to eventually generate income for the residents through agroforestry.

To date, TMP has planted 21,000 out of the 25,000-target total number of native fruit-bearing and timber tree seedlings since it started the rehabilitation of the same site in 2022.

Reforestation is one of the prime examples of nature-based solutions, particularly in carbon sequestration. According to the World Bank, these solutions could deliver up to 37 percent of the emission reductions the world needs by 2030 to maintain global temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius.

“Recognizing the urgency to address the current effects of climate change, Toyota is driven to actively pursue carbon neutrality and coexist in harmony with nature,” TMP president Masando Hashimoto said.

“I would like to express my gratitude to our partners from the DENR, the local community of Siniloan, and volunteers for dedicating their time and exerting efforts to make a climate action and impact today.”

TMP’s extensive nature conservation efforts, including tree and mangrove planting activities and coastal and riverside cleanups, are integrated into the All Toyota Green Wave Project.

Launched in 2015 under the Toyota Global Environmental Challenge 2050, the project is a global initiative that aims to connect Toyota’s stakeholder network to nature and communities while addressing environmental issues and supporting local livelihoods.