The TREES4Life: Tubong Pinoy Movement is an advocacy campaign for the conservation and preservation of the indigenous and endemic tree species of the Philippines. It fosters the propagation, planting and nurturing of these indigenous and endemic tree species and the popularization of their use in different tree conservation activities. It encourages the participation of forest-dependent communities through livelihood activities such as gathering of native seeds, propagation of seedlings and planting of trees.

Likewise, TREES4Life: Tubong Pinoy Movement is a campaign to gather a critical mass consisting of the government, environmentalists, NGOs (non-government organizations), corporations, cause-oriented groups and other tree advocates to promote the program and plant a total of 10 million native trees in ten (10) years.

The program is being supported by an Activity Grant from the Mitsui and Co., Ltd. Environment Fund.

To be able to achieve its objectives, the following component projects are being implemented under the program:

1) The Tubong Pinoy Central Nursery

The nursery will serve as a permanent national seedling bank of endemic and indigenous tree species wherein different individuals and organizations involved in tree conservation activities can acquire their planting material requirements.

The nursery is located in a two-hectare lot at Sitio B-Uno, Brgy. Canlubang, Calamba City, Province of Laguna and currently houses at least 50,000 seedlings of around 50 different indigenous and endemic tree species. Among the tree species that are being propagated in the nursery are:

No. Common Name Scientific Name Family Name 01 Akle Albizia acle Fabaceae 02 Amugis Koordersiodendron pinnatum Anacardiaceae 03 Anang Diospyros pyrrhocarpa Ebenaceae 04 Babayok Mitrephora pictiflora Annonaceae 05 Balakat-gubat Balakata luzonica Euphorbiaceae 06 Balitbitan Cynometra ramiflora Fabaceae 07 Balobo Diplodiscus paniculatus Malvaceae 08 Baltik Syzygium acrophilum Myrtaceae 09 Balukanag Chisocheton cumingianus Meliaceae 10 Banaba Lagerstroemia speciosa Lythraceae 11 Batino Alstonia macrophylla Apocynaceae 12 Betis Madhuca betis Sapotaceae 13 Bignai Antidesma bunius Phyllanthaceae 14 Bitaog Callophyllum inophyllum Clusiaceae 15 Bolong-eta Diospyros pilosanthera Ebenaceae 16 Dalisai Prunus clementis Rosaceae 17 Dangkalan Calophyllum obliquinervium Clusiaceae 18 Dao Dracontomelon dao Anacardiaceae 19 Igyo Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum Meliaceae 20 Ilang-ilang Cananga odorata Annonaceae 21 Ipil Intsia bijuga Fabaceae 22 Kalantas Toona calantas Meliaceae 23 Kalumpit Terminalia microcarpa Combretaceae 24 Kamagong Diospyros discolor Ebenaceae 25 Karumayan Calophyllum kunstleri Clusiaceae 26 Katmon Dillenia philippinensis Dilleniaceae 27 Kupang Parkia roxburghii Fabaceae 28 Lamio Dracontomelon edule Anacardiaceae 29 Lanipau Terminalia copelandii Combretaceae 30 Lingo-lingo Viticipremna philippinensis Lamiaceae 31 Lipote Syzygium polycephaloides Myrtaceae 32 Liusin Maranthes corymbosa Chrysobalanaceae 33 Magtungau Syzygium alcinae Myrtaceae 34 Malanangka Paratocarpus venenosus Moraceae 35 Mangkono Xanthostemon verdugonianus Myrtaceae 36 Molave Vitex parviflora Lamiaceae 37 Narra Pterocarpus indicus Fabaceae 38 Natong-linis Palaquium glabrifolium Sapotaceae 39 Philippine teak Tectona philippinensis Lamiaceae 40 Pili Canarium ovatum Burseraceae 41 Piling-liitan Canarium luzonicum Burseraceae 42 Puso-puso Neolitsea vidalii Lauraceae 43 Rambutan Nephelium lappaceum Sapindaceae 44 Sakat Terminalia nitens Combretaceae 45 Saplungan Hopea plagata Dipterocarpaceae 46 Supa Sindora supa Fabaceae 47 Taluto Pterocymbium tinctorium Malvaceae 48 Tamayuan Strombosia philippinensis Olacaceae 49 Tuai Bischofia javanica Phyllanthaceae 50 White lauan Shorea contorta Dipterocarpaceae

2) The Halcon Heritage Forest Museum

The Halcon Heritage Forest Museum will be located in a 500-hectare forest land under the stewardship of the Iraya Pangkapia-an Pal-amutan Organization (IPPO), a local organization of Mangyan-Iraya, a subtribe of the Mangyans, Mindoro island’s Indigenous People. It is located in Sitio Ariguy, Brgy. Bigaan, San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro.

The project site will be developed into a natural forest museum that will feature the indigenous and endemic trees in the area as its living exhibit. It also aims to showcase the richness of the biodiversity of Mindoro Island and the cultural heritage of its indigenous people.

The project is being implemented in partnership with the Municipal Government of San Teodoro, the DENR, NCCA and other NGOs.

3) The Aeta Ancestral Domain Area

The project is to be implemented in the Ancestral Domain (AD) Area of indigenous Aeta communities in Mount Linitan, Botolan, Zambales. The area, with a size of at least 10,000 hectares, was awarded to them by the Philippine Government to recognize their rights to their ancestral domain and lands. The area protects the springs that provide water to the Aeta communities and the natural resources found within it provides for most of the needs of the local communities.

The main activity of the project is to assist the local upland and/or indigenous communities in bringing back the biodiversity in their area through the rehabilitation of their forest resources. These communities will also be trained in maintaining their own nurseries and propagating native tree species. The planting materials that they produce will also be used to rehabilitate their areas and can also provide an additional source of income to them. The communities will also be assisted in developing their own alternative livelihood and community development activities to lessen their dependence on the forest. The project is also intended to serve as a model or template for other communities in managing their own forest resources while also addressing their livelihood needs.

4) The Gawad Kalinga Community Nurseries and Native Tree Parks

The project sites are community villages build by Gawad Kalinga (GK) to provide decent housing facilities to the homeless and liberate them from poverty by providing alternative livelihood sources. Five (5) sites shall initially be developed through EDNP and GK’s partnership. Through the partnership, a community nursery shall be established in each of these villages to provide them with an alternative source of income and sources of planting materials for their tree planting activities. Also, Tree Parks shall be established in each of the five (5) selected GK Villages. Each tree park shall be planted with different indigenous and endemic tree species of the Philippines. Each planted tree shall be labeled properly to help educate the local communities about the different local tree species and their importance.

The following are the five (5) project sites intended for development:

Pilot Site (Year 1): OFW - Saudi Arabia GK Village, Padre Burgos, Quezon

Year 2 Sites: GK Tayabas Village, Silangan Palale, Tayabas, Quezon and GK Villa Santayana Village, Ibabang Kalilayan, Unisan, Quezon

Year 3 Sites: GK Pangil Village, Pangil, Laguna and GK Infanta Village, Infanta, Quezon

5) Information, Communication and Education Campaign

This component project aims to educate different groups on the importance of preserving the country’s biodiversity resources and trains them on different ways to conserve these resources. The project will include seminar-workshops on biodiversity conservation developed for government officials, school administrators, property developers, NGOs and other groups through the help of the experts on these fields. Topics covered include those on “Urban Greening: The Indigenous Way” and on “Bringing Back Biodiversity in an Urban Setting.” An audiovisual and PowerPoint presentation about the program shall be developed, as well as, a webpage that shall be created at EDNPI’s Website. Educational materials developed from biodiversity researches such as booklets and posters of the different “Indigenous and Endemic Tree Species of the Philippines” will also distributed to different groups, especially local communities, to increase their understanding along these lines.

Government Partners

Media Partners

EDNP Secretariat, National Ecology Center, East Ave.,

Brgy Central, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines

Telefax: (00 63 2) 332-6030 | Email: secretariat@earthdayphils.org