In what proponents are calling a flagship shift in Philippine conservation, a sweeping 120,000-hectare forest restoration program in Samar is emerging as one of the largest privately backed ecological rehabilitation efforts in Southeast Asia — positioning private capital as a central engine of environmental recovery inside a protected national park, without direct public funding.

The 50-year agreement between French nature restoration firm aDryada, Samar Bamboo Corporation, and the Philippine government covers the restoration of vast degraded forestlands within the over 330,000-hectare Samar Island National Park.

Model blueprint

The initiative is being framed by its proponents as a model blueprint for how large-scale conservation, rural development, and climate finance can be integrated under a single long-term investment structure.

At the heart of its scale is its sheer physical ambition, underscored by a comparison that places its footprint in striking perspective: the area being restored — about 120,000 hectares — is nearly double the size of Metro Manila, which spans roughly 64,000 hectares.

Proponents said this scale reflects not only ecological urgency but also the unprecedented scope of private participation in a conservation effort carried out without direct government spending, according to Atty. Karen Jimeno, who, along with Allana Montelibano, represents Audax Global, the Switzerland-based firm that serves as project convenor and strategic partner for the Green Samar Project.

Specifically, Audax facilitated the multi-party collaboration that led to the landmark Memorandum of Agreement signed between world-leading investment house Ardian-backed aDryada, the French nature-based global developer of large-scalle forest restoration, conservation and biodiversity projects, Samar Bamboo Corporation, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to protect and rehabilitate the Samar Island Natural Park.

Multi-layered development program

Beyond ecological restoration, the project is being designed as a multi-layered development program within the protected area, targeting more than 20,000 residents.

Planned interventions include job creation, upgraded agricultural systems, social infrastructure and a long-term benefit-sharing framework intended to link community welfare with forest recovery outcomes.

Project proponents said the initiative is expected to function as a test case for climate-linked investment models, particularly through the use of internationally certified carbon credits to finance long-term forest management and protection. The approach also aims to strengthen watershed systems critical to regional water security while curbing illegal logging and charcoal production.

For stakeholders, the project’s significance goes beyond conservation. “We need a healthy and dense forest to sustain our water supply,” said Samar Bamboo Corporation president Benjie Picardo, who also heads Taft Hydro Energy Corporation which operates a 16-MW hydropower plant in Barangay San Rafael, Taft, Eastern Samar, and another 14-MW hydro expansion project in the same area.

“To sustain our hydroelectric operations in Samar, we are also expanding energy projects. Restoring degraded forests is essential because this is where our watershed is located,” Picardo informed.

Long-term legacy investment

He added that the effort represents a long-term legacy investment, linking environmental restoration with rural economic transition in communities historically dependent on forest exploitation.