GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Environmental authorities, education officials, and local leaders signed an agreement Oct. 27 to establish a one-hectare beach forest plantation at Salakit Elementary School in Kiamba, Sarangani.
The project aims to cultivate and plant 2,000 beach forest seedlings in Barangay Salakit to strengthen coastal greenbelt protection and rehabilitate degraded ecosystems within the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape.
Financed through the Integrated Protected Area Fund from 2026 through 2028, the initiative covers site preparation, seedling production, environmental awareness campaigns, and regular monitoring.
Students, local residents, and community stakeholders will participate in planting and maintenance efforts. Upon project completion in 2028, management of the plantation will transfer to the municipal government of Kiamba and Barangay Salakit.
Under the agreement, the Protected Area Management Office will provide technical assistance, site validation, and monitoring to ensure alignment with protected area zoning regulations.
The Kiamba municipal government will lead community mobilization and incorporate coastal greenbelt protection into local environmental programs.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region XII Acting Executive Director Maria Elvira V. Lumayag, who also chairs the protected area management board, signed the pact alongside Department of Education representative Marlou De Arce and Kiamba Mayor George F. Falgui during a ceremony at Venue 88 Hotel.
Falgui reaffirmed the local government’s commitment to sustainable coastal management and habitat restoration.
Officials said the project aligns with the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018 and the environment department’s Project TRANSFORM, which focus on climate resilience and biodiversity conservation.
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