THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it is preparing the terms for investing in reforestation programs taking place on 1.2 million hectares of land.

Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga told reporters on the sidelines of the Japan-Philippines Environment Week ceremony that the reforestation pitch will be directed to potential foreign investors that need to offset their emissions.

“We expect that there will be interest on the part of foreign corporations that are willing or need to offset what they are emitting. The overall goal for us is to reforest,” she said.

“What we want to do is within this administration build our way towards releasing up to 3 million hectares for investment in reforestation, for agroforestry, for other uses related to sustainable use of our forest land,” she added.

With regard to environmental projects involving Japan, Ms. Yulo-Loyzaga said she is looking forward to a Japanese role in developing an electronic waste management system for the Philippines.

“We don’t have a system really in place for e-waste,” she said.

She added that there will be discussions on technology that would be available for the Philippines to address its broader solid waste problem, with waste-to-energy under consideration.

According to the World Bank, waste-to-energy solutions have been identified as a sustainable alternative to landfills.

Undersecretary Jonas R. Leones added that the DENR is currently finalizing a framework between the DENR and Japan’s Ministry of Environment.

“We are just hammering out the details of collaboration,” Mr. Leones said.

Ms. Yulo-Loyzaga added that the Japanese government is willing to provide technical assistance, scientific cooperation, financing, and official development assistance.

“We’re looking at how all of these can actually deliver on our own goals in terms of decarbonization, sustainable communities, and ecological preservation, by way of different types of technology and interventions,” she said. — Adrian H. Halili