SOCIO-ECONOMIC; IMPACT OF NATIONAL GREENING PROGRAM IN

BANGA, SOUTH COTABATO

LEAH G. HURTADA

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE SULTAN KUDARAT

STATE UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

( BSES )

JANUARY 2023
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Historically, the Philippines had lost at least 80% of its original forest

cover since the 16th century (Remollino, 2004. In fact, forest cover decreased

by 328,682 hectares, that is, from 7,168,400 hectares in 2003 to 6,839,718

hectares in 2010 (DENR). This translates to an annual forest cover loss of

46.954 hectares.

To reverse this trend, the Philippines government initiated the National

Greening Program (NGP) as a massive forest rehabilitation program

established through the issuance of Executive Order (EO) No. 26 signed by

President Benigno S. Aquino III on February 24, 2011.

The primary mandate of the development of the program comes with

the associated tasks of the national struggle against poverty, and food

insecurity. environment instability and biodiversity loss, and climate change.

To achieve these, a multi-sector approach to reforestation is implemented.

This approach involves the participation of upland and coastal communities,

People's Organizations (POs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Local

Government Units (LGUs), National Government Agencies (NGAs), State

Colleges and Universities (SCUs), and private sector.

The NGP specifically seeks to plant 1.5 billion seedlings in 1.5 million

hectares of land nationwide within six years, from 2011 to 2016. Areas for

planting under the program include forestlands, mangroves, protected areas,

ancestral domains, civil and military reservations, urban areas under the
greening plan of LGUs, inactive and abandoned mine sites, and others.

suitable lands of the public domain.

On November 12, 2015, to continually rehabilitate the remaining 7.1

million hectares of unproductive, denuded, and degraded forestlands in the

country, NGP extended its implementation until the year 2028 through the

issuance of Executive Order No. 193 or the "Expanded National Greening

Program."

Among the aforementioned objective of NGP, this study will focus on

the socio-economic impact of the program particularly in reducing poverty and

providing a livelihood for the community in the Municipality of Banga, South

Cotabato, NGP is being implemented by the Department of Environment and

Natural Resources (DENR) through its field office, Community Environment

and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) stationed in Purok 2, San Vicente,

Banga. South Cotabato.

Statement of the problem

1. What are the experiences of the community before the NGP was

implemented?

2. What are the changes in the community since the NGP was

implemented?

3. Does the National Greening Program affect the socioeconomic

standing of its beneficiaries?

4. What are the significant socioeconomic impacts of NGP in Banga,

South Cotabato?

Objectives of the study

General objectives

 To determine the socioeconomic impact of NGP in the municipality of

Banga, South Cotabato

Specific objectives

1. To evaluate the socio-economic impact of NGP in Banga, South

Cotabato

2. To determine the actions that are being taken to be able to achieve this

program.

3. To know the effectiveness of NGP when it comes to the environment.

4. To gain knowledge about this topic.

Significance of the study

The valuable output of the study is beneficial to the following:

To the teachers, this study would provide information about the

socioeconomic impact status of NGP ( National Greening Program ) in Banga,

South Cotabato how the community deals with it, hat its impacts d its status.

To the students, the data and information of this study would enrich

and enhance their knowledge of students on the socioeconomic status of the

NGP in the municipality of Banga, South Cotabato.

To the researchers, the data and unfounded results from this study

can be used as a reference and data baseline for continuous research studies

on this topic.

Scope of delimitation

This study focuses on the socioeconomic status of the National

Greening Program in the area of Banga, South Cotabato. This study will be

conducted at Banga, South Cotabato (2022-2023).

Operational Definition of terms

For a better understanding of the study, some of the terms are defined

below:

Term 1 National Greening Program (NGP) - it means it is primarily a

reforestation program that seeks to bring back the vegetative cover of the

country's upland, as to achieve more – beyond reforestation.

Term 2 Socioeconomic - it means concerned with the interaction of social

and economic factors.

Term 3 Climate change - it means refers to the long-term shifts of

temperatures and weather patterns.

Term 4 Poverty - it means the state of one who lacks a usual or socially

acceptable amount of money.

Term 5 Protected areas - it means a geographical area with a distinct

boundary that has been acknowledged, set aside, and managed through

legitimate authority or other efficient methods.

Term 6 Biodiversity - it means found in various habitats, such as terrestrial,

marine, and desert ones, as well as the ecological groups to which they

belong.

Term 7 Environmental instability - it means the use of self-regulating

processes so as to recover to a steady state following an external

disturbance.

Term 8 Food security - it means nutritious, safe, and culturally appropriate

foods that are produced in an environmentally sustainable and socially just

manner.

Term 9 Mangroves - means tropical plants that can withstand tidal

inundation, salt water, and loose, wet soils.

Term 10 Ancestral domains - it means refers to the lands, borders, and

natural resources that belong to indigenous people.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents a review of related literature and studies on the

socioeconomic impact of NGP ( National Greening Program).

Related Studies

The Effect of the Implementation of the National Greening Program on

the Socioeconomic Status of Smallholders in Caibiran, Biliran,

Philippines

The National Greening Program (NGP), an extensive program for

restoring forests, was introduced by the Philippine government in 2011. Its

goal was to plant 1.5 billion trees on 1.5 million ha by 2016 in order to restore

the ecological integrity of deforested landscapes and raise the socioeconomic

standing of the participating farmers. The NGP can potentially produce short-

term socioeconomic advantages through capacity-building programs and

payment for labor used to carry out the restoration activities, even if the

program's primary economic and environmental benefits can only be realized

over the long term. In this study, the socioeconomic status (SES) of

participants in the Community-based Forestry Project Beneficiaries

Association (CFPBA), which carried out the NGP in Caibiran, Biliran Province,

was compared to that of non-participants.

Who lives in greener neighborhoods? The distribution of street greenery

and its association with residents’ socioeconomic conditions in

Hartford, Connecticut, USA, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

A city's environmental quality can be improved by adding street plants.

Studies on the environment in cities nowadays generally concentrate on how

desirable land uses are distributed (e.g., open spaces and parks). Although

there haven't been many research on street greenery in residential areas, it

may offer city dwellers a number of advantages, including energy savings,

shade provision, and aesthetic benefits. The profile views of urban

landscapes that Google Street View (GSV) offers can be used to evaluate the

amount of greenery along residential streets. In this project, GSV was utilized

in a case study to look at the links between some socioeconomic

characteristics and the spatial distributions of residential street greenery in

several block groups of Hartford, Connecticut, in the United States. In order to

quantify how much greenery a pedestrian can see from ground level, the

green view index was derived using the GSV photos acquired at various

horizontal and vertical view angles. The findings indicated that different social

groups in Hartford have differing quantities of street vegetation in their homes.

Higher-income households typically reside in neighborhoods with more street

vegetation. In conclusion, this study contributes to the literature by offering

insights into urban inhabitants' living situations in terms of street greenery and
also produces invaluable reference data for upcoming urban greening

initiatives.

The Economic Impact of Greening Urban Vacant Land: A Spatial

Difference-In-Differences Analysis

Having urban green spaces helps cities achieve a wide range of

overlapping objectives (Bain et al., 2012). The advantages include filtration

and attenuation of storm-water runoff, reduction of urban heat islands, and

purification of airborne contaminants (Nowak and Crane, 2002; Lawrence,

1995; Jim and Chen, 2008). (Zhang et al., 2012, Liu et al., 2014). Urban green

spaces provide inhabitants with opportunities for social interaction and

physical activity, such as walking and bicycling, which further improves human

mental health and lowers aggression and crime rates (Leslie et al., 2010, Lee

and Maheswaran, 2011, Bain et al., 2012, Coutts, 2008). (Kuo and Sullivan,

2001, Troy et al., 2012, Wolfe and Mennis, 2012).

In many cities, vacant land is a major issue, and recently, cities have

started to investigate greening as a management method to lessen the

detrimental effects of vacancy. In order to improve dilapidated neighborhoods,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was a pioneer in the deployment of a

straightforward greening strategy that involved clearing debris and planting

trees and grass. Even while these programs are gaining popularity, it is

unclear what their actual economic effects will be. This article describes the

application of a geographical difference-in-differences approach to assess the

effect of Philadelphia's ground-breaking empty land greening program on the

values of surrounding residential properties.

In this method, unoccupied lots that have been treated are compared

to nearby control lots that may have been treated but weren't in order to

determine how much their property values have changed. While there was an

increase in property prices throughout the city over the research period, the

value of properties near greened vacant lots increased more than those near

non-greened vacant lots. By creating both global and local versions of the

model, we also investigate how the program's effects vary depending on

where they occur, providing information about the kind of neighborhoods that

might profit most financially from vacant land greening initiatives.

Low-cost housing developments in South Africa miss the opportunities

for household level urban greening

Large-scale migration from rural to urban areas is occurring in the

majority of emerging nations worldwide. Many recent immigrants wind up

living in slums, low-income neighborhoods, or other locations that are

unregulated and unregulated, which raises environmental problems. The

supply of trees and green spaces is one aspect of enhanced urban

sustainability. While many nations have urban greening programs for streets

and public areas, few have taken into account the status and potential

contribution of trees from residents' home gardens. In this paper, we first

discuss the policy framework for urban forestry and greening in South Africa,

and then we discuss the upkeep, use, and appreciation of trees on private

homesteads of residents of new and older low-income suburbs as well as

informal housing areas from three small towns in South Africa. We specifically

check to see if the most recent centrally planned and constructed low-income

housing schemes—known as RDP suburbs in South Africa—have taken into

account and incorporated designs or areas for urban greenery in people's

homesteads. We discovered that while general environmental and

sustainability declarations and concerns are included in many urban

development and housing laws, there are typically no detailed implementation

requirements. Other than the National Forest Act and its successor rules,

which are more precise, urban forestry and tree planting are rarely discussed

in the larger land use and environmental laws, and even then, they are only

briefly touched upon. The new RDP suburbs in comparison to the township

and informal areas in the research towns had the lowest prevalence, density,

and variety of tree species. As a result, in the RDP areas, the contribution of

tree products to local livelihoods was similarly decreased. However, there

were no variations among residents of the three distinct suburbs in their level

of awareness for the worth and intangible advantages of trees. This

demonstrates how the absence of planning for and provision for trees in new

low-cost housing developments wastes a chance to enhance the sustainability

and livability of cities as a whole and limits the potential flows of concrete and
intangible benefits to urban people. Due to space restrictions and the

associated costs of retroactive legislation, creating such opportunities in older

suburbs can be difficult, but they should be easy to incorporate into new low-

cost home development plans.

Currently, there are more people living in urban regions than in rural

ones, and this disparity will only increase (UN Habitat 2006). More than 70%

of the world's population is predicted to live in cities by 2050. (Montgomery,

2008). The developed world has already seen several decades of urban

populations' demographic, economic, and political dominance. Currently,

emerging nations are going through the most change (Montgomery, 2008,

Angel et al., 2011). While there are still a majority of rural residents in many

emerging nations, this will shift within the next two generations. Therefore,

there is a rising need to comprehend land use and sustainability challenges in

urban environments in developing nations.

The impact of greenery on physical activity and mental health of

adolescent and adult residents of deprived neighborhoods: A
longitudinal study

The study's objective is to evaluate the effects of perceived and actual

changes in greenery on physical activity and mental health in adults and

adolescents residing in extremely underprivileged areas of the Netherlands.

401 adolescents and 454 adults had their longitudinal data on changes in

greenery, walking, cycling, and depressive symptoms (CES-D) collected

through surveys and interviews with regional district managers. Multivariate

linear regression models that adjusted for the season and socioeconomic
characteristics looked at the relationship between greenery and outcome

variables.

Except for two cases, the data generally revealed negligible and

insignificant connections. Increases in the actual greenery were linked to a

lesser loss in the amount of time that adolescents spent cycling for fun, and

improvements in the perceived greenery were linked to a reduction in the

depressive symptoms of adults. There were also a number of subgroup

effects. As a result, people of extremely impoverished communities did not

consistently benefit from improvements in the greenery. However, there are

some signs that the presence of greenery benefits particular subgroups.

The presence of greenery or other natural features in residential areas

provides opportunity for mental renewal, which can benefit mental health

(e.g., De Vries et al., 2013, Hartig et al., 2014; Lee and Maheswaran, 2010;

Van den Berg et al., 2016). Additionally, greenery can offer possibilities for

exercise (e.g., Hunter et al., 2015; Lee and Maheswaran, 2010; Mytton et al.,

2012, Sallis et al., 2016). De Vries, et al. (2013), Hartig, et al. (2014),

Koohsari, et al. (2015), and Lee and Maheswaran (2010) are only a few

examples of the evidence that appears to be mainly inconsistent.

Street trees and crime: What characteristics of trees and streetscapes

matter

Numerous aspects of tree structure, streetscapes, and tree care all

influence how much street trees influence crime. It is important to distinguish

between tree-related traits that promote crime and those that cause crime to

drop in order to properly implement urban greening activities as crime

prevention programs. From a variety of sources, this study developed a

comprehensive set of tree-related traits and criminal attributes. The

correlations between street trees and crime in New York City were then

determined using conventional least squares and spatial Durbin regressions.

According to our findings, the number of small-sized trees was positively

correlated with crime rates, while the tree canopy cover, species variety, and

streetscape greenery had the opposite effect. Tree health, the percentage of

trees with dangerous guards, and the percentage of trees with trunk issues

were the features of street trees that showed a dual-feature with crime rates,

however tree stewardship was not substantially related to crime. Additionally,

our data showed that streetscape greenery and tree canopy coverage were

helpful in reducing the severity of crimes. The "broken window theory," the

view-blocking impact of trees, the "eyes on the street," and the therapeutic

benefit of trees could all be viable explanations for the contradictory

connections between street tree attributes and crime. The findings have

significant implications for the implementation of tree-planting programs in

addressing the dual tasks of improving urban greening and reducing crime,

and could assist in translating crime reduction into specific actions of

streetscape design and tree management that can be taken by government

and local stakeholders.

Urban crime has major negative effects on victims' physical, mental, and

social health as well as their families and communities through social

connections and organizations (WHO, 2016). To lower crime and increase

public safety, a variety of programs and interventions have been developed

and put into action. These include increasing police patrols, toughening

penalties, effective urban planning and governance, exchanging experiences

through city networks, creating community-based approaches, and lowering

major risk factors (UN-Habitat, 2007). Along with these conventional methods,

urban forestry has also been identified as having the potential to contribute to

a decline in crime rates (Kuo and Sullivan, 2001).

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework is use to show the variables of the study,

and in this figure, the flow of the study is shown where there is input, process,

and output, which means that it is how you carry out your study and what is

the result of your study.

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

 Review
and
Gaining the
understan
knowledge about
Socioeconomic d the topic.
the
impact of  Find out
socioeconomic
National the
impact of the
Greening necessary
National
Program in data of
Greening
Banga, South your study.
Program in
Cotabato.  Preparing
Banga, South
interviews,
Cotabato.
The steps being and survey
taken to questionna
To be able to
address this ire for
understand what
issue. collecting
is the
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socioeconomic
 Fixing the impact of
problem National
through Greening
analysis Program and
and what is the
interpretin possible
g the data outcomes when it
collected. comes to this
study.
Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the Study

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design, locale of the study, the

respondents of the study, data gathering instruments, the procedure, and

statistical treatment.

Research Design

The descriptive research methodology will use in this study. It is

descriptive since it will discuss the socioeconomic impact of the National

Greening Program in Banga, South Cotabato. The goal is to quantify data

collecting and analysis using quantitative research. In order to collect data

and evaluate it in light of the respondent’s perceptions of the statistical

relationship between the specified variables, this research strategy will be

applicable.

Locale of the Study

The study will conduct in the municipality of Banga, Province of South

Cotabato for the Academic Year of 2022-2023.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of this study are the _____ citizens (People's

Organization (PO) Chairman, NGP beneficiaries, NGP Site Coordinator,

Forest Extension Officer, and NGP Coordinator) from the National Greening

Program in Banga, South Cotabato. The researcher will use a random

sampling technique in determining the respondents. Random sampling is a

method of selecting a sample size (n) from the universe (N) such that each

member of the population has an equal chance of being selected as a

sample.

Data Gathering Instruments

The research is quantitative and descriptive in character, and the

researcher will create questionnaires on the socioeconomic effects of the

National Greening Program in Banga, South Cotabato. The survey will use a

five-point Likert scale, with options from 5 (always), 4 (often), 3 (sometimes),

2 (seldom), and 1 (never), with 5 denoting the most accurate response.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researcher will make a survey questionnaire and send it to the

advisor for approval, and evaluation by the panelists. The researcher will

request the program director's authorization and approval to carry out the

study. The adviser and the research coordinator will note a letter of

permission. While adhering to moral guidelines and safe medical practices,

the researcher will personally present the questionnaire to the

respondents. The questionnaire will return to the researcher for analysis and

interpretation as soon as it is finished.

Statistical tools and Treatment of Data

Simple statistical measures will be used in the study to process the

data that will be acquired. 

The National Greening Program's socioeconomic impact in Banga,

South Cotabato, will be assessed using simple statistical measures. Whether

it is very well maintained, slightly preserved, or not at all. Eather (2014) claims

that the mean, or computed "central" value of a setoff number, is the average

of the numbers. 

Additionally, the mean has the potential to incorporate every value in

the data, making it a good representative of the data because it does so

(Williams and Wilkins, 2000). The information will then gather, totaled, and

analyzed to provide answers to the study questions, and the means of the

responses are calculated.

 LITERATURE CITED

Thesis (Published/Unpublished)

Goltiano, H., Gregorio, N., Pasa, A. et a. (27 May 2021). The Effect of

the Implementation of the National Greening Program on the Socioeconomic

Status of Smallholders in Caibiran, Biliran, Philippines. Small-scale

Forestry 20, 585–604 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-021-09482-9)

Online Sources

Xiaojiang Li, Chuanrong Zhang, Weidong Li, Yulia A. Kuzovkina,

Daniel Weiner (2015), Who lives in greener neighborhoods? The distribution

of street greenery and its association with residents’ socioeconomic

conditions in Hartford, Connecticut, USA, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening,

Volume14, Issue4, 2015, Pages 751-759, ISSN 1618-8667,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2015.07.006.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866715000990)

C.M. Shackleton, P. Hebinck, H. Kaoma, M. Chishaleshale, A. Chinyimba,

S.E. Shackleton, J. Gambiza, D. Gumbo, (2014) Low-cost housing

developments in South Africa miss the opportunities for household level urban

greening, Land Use Policy, Volume 36, 2014, Pages 500-509, ISSN 0264-

8377,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.10.002.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026483771300197X)
Jessica S. Gubbels, Stef P.J. Kremers, Mariël Droomers, Cees Hoefnagels,

Karien Stronks, Clemens Hosman, Sjerp de Vries, (2016). The impact of

greenery on physical activity and mental health of adolescent and adult

residents of deprived neighborhoods: A longitudinal study,Health & Place,

Volume 40, 2016, Pages 153-160, ISSN 1353-8292,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2016.06.002.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829216300624)

Jian Lin, Qiang Wang, Bo Huang, (2021). Street trees and crime: What

characteristics of trees and streetscapes matter, Urban Forestry & Urban

Greening, Volume 65, 2021, 127366, ISSN 1618-8667,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127366.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866721003939)

Journals (Published/Unpublished)

Megan Heckert,  Jeremy Mennis (2012). The Economic Impact of Greening

Urban Vacant Land: A Spatial Difference-In-Differences Analysis, Volume 44,

Issue 12 (https://doi.org/10.1068/a4595)