De Venecia: 168 Asian political parties back RP's One Billion Trees Movement

By Leonardo V. Micua

DAGUPAN CITY, Mar. 8 (PNA) — Fourth District Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr. said that his personal advocacy calling for the planting of One Billion Trees gained the support of 168 political parties in Asia whose leaders met in Katmandu, Nepal sometime last February.

Speaking to newsmen at his residence on Saturday, De Venecia said he chaired the conference as president of Asian Association of Political Parties.

That was the second conference made by the group in two years, the first one of which was in Kazakhstan in August last year.

De Venecia said he was glad that his proposal seeking the planting of One Billion Trees in each country was approved and endorsed by all political parties in Asia, namely: Russia, China, India, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and others.

He said one of the biggest supporters of his proposal was the Communist Party of China as Northern China today is in the midst of drought, like what is now happening in California, USA.

With the support of various countries in Asia, De Venecia is optimistic that this could translate to One Trillion Trees.

De Venecia is founder of the One Billion Trees Movement in the Philippines which he founded sometime in 2003 along with retired Justice Amado Valdez who later served as government corporate counsel and foreign affairs undersecretary in charge of the Visiting Forces Agreement, his son Jose de Venecia III, who is now running for senator; and seven others.

The elder De Venecia said: “Drought, alternating with killer storms, typhoons and now killer quakes are inter-related and all these are caused by carbon dioxide emission that goes to the sky and create global warming and climate change”.

He noted that the ice caps in the north and south poles are now melting while the glaciers in Mount Everest are now also beginning to melt, all of which are signs that global warming and climate change are for real.

At the same time, De Venecia called on the Filipinos anew to support his One Billion Trees Movement as trees, he added, are the only means capable of saving planet earth from the onslaught of climate change which causes natural disasters, such as today’s drought, powerful storms, floods and earthquakes.

De Venecia’s One Billion Trees Movement calls for the reforestation of bald mountains of Mindanao, Samar-Leyte, Bicol Peninsula, Pinatubo area, Zambales and Western Pangasinan Marikina City and all the way to the Sierra Madre, Cordillera Region, Ilocos Region and Cagayan Valley.

He said if the Filipinos will plant one billion trees today, there will be one billion trees to be added to the natural resources and to be harvested and form part of the incomes of the people.

He cited the examples of Canada, New Zealand and Finland whose major export now is lumber.

The trees absorb carbon dioxide emission and if not absorbed, this will go to the sky and cause global warming which triggers climate change that is now causing today's, “killer rains”, “killer floods”, killer typhoons and eventually “killer drought”.

De Venecia said that while each country in Asia will do its part in planting one billion trees each, that could soon translate to one trillion trees, there is also a need to exert continuous pressures on the G-8 and G-20 countries to provide massive funds for the battle of climate change.

Poor and developing nations, with even debts to rich nations, need funds to undertake a comprehensive reforestation program and fight poverty, he added.

To him, the result of the Copenhagen Summit last year was disappointing because the advanced countries seem reluctant to support poor nations in fighting climate change. (PNA)
LDV/lvmicua/rma