New Filipino Law Requires Every Student To Plant 10 Trees If They Want To Graduate
The move came in to being as a preventive measure by the Philippines government as the country’s total forest cover has been reduced to 20 per cent from 70 per cent due to heavy deforestation. The country aims to plant, nourish and grow over 175 million trees a year, under the law.
Philippines has passed a landmark new law which requires all high school and college students to plant at least 10 trees if they want to graduate school or college. This Filipino law which could enable 175 million new trees to be planted each year and 525 billion trees in one generation is just the kind the world needs as it is only beginning to recognise and combat climate change.
The bill, called the “Graduation Legacy For the Environment Act,” was approved in the House and is now sent to the Philippines Senate for action. Proponents of the law see this as an opportunity for the Filipino youth to help tackle climate change and build a greener environment for their generation.
Over the course of one generation the bill will be responsible for 525 billion trees planted. This comes from over 12 million students graduating from elementary school each year, 5 million from high school and 500,000 from college, equaling 175 million new trees planted each year.
The Philippines consists of 7,641 islands in Southeast Asia. Across those islands, deforestation has been a primary environmental issue. Widespread development and agriculture have led to a significant drop in forested areas across the Philippines. Through the 20th century, forested area in the Philippines decreased from 70 percent to 20 percent. It is estimated that 24.2 million acres of forests were cut down from 1934 to 1988, primarily from logging.
