Naga's Upland Green Canopy and Livelihood Program Begins
PlantNation joined the city government of Naga, national agencies, academic institutions, and upland communities for the ceremonial rites of a program that pairs upland restoration with farmer income.
A program to restore Naga's uplands has begun, and the people who spoke at its ceremonial rites were clear about what makes it different: the trees are only half of it. The other half is what the farmers in the upland barangays take home.
The Naga Upland Green Canopy and Livelihood Program was described at the event as a shared commitment among the city government of Naga, national government agencies, the private sector, academic institutions, and local communities — to protect and restore upland ecosystems while creating sustainable opportunities for the people who live and work there. PlantNation was among the partners on stage.
More than a partnership
Speaking for PlantNation, the company framed the occasion as the start of a shared commitment rather than a signing to be filed away. The idea the team returned to is a simple one: progress happens when land, people, and opportunity are connected in the same plan.
That framing matters in the uplands, where restoration projects have often been designed around hectares planted and little else. Here, the planting and the livelihood are treated as one program.
A cleaner, greener, more flood-resilient Naga
A city official explained that the current set of local leaders, elected for the 2025 to 2028 term, wanted their direction for Naga to be clear from the start. After a series of sectoral and barangay consultations, the city arrived at a set of concrete targets to be pursued within the term. Among them is a Naga that is cleaner, greener, and more flood-resilient.
One of the practical ways the city intends to get there is by preferring nature-based solutions, and by partnering with private organisations and institutions that can help deliver them. PlantNation was thanked by name during the remarks for taking the lead among the partners.
Flooding, seen from the top of the watershed
Another speaker put the program in the context of flood control. The city is looking at this project as an additional measure — a nature-based layer, rather than relying on infrastructure alone to prevent flooding in Naga's low-lying areas.
It is a shift in where the work happens. Instead of only building at the point where the water arrives, the program invests in the upland barangays where the water starts.
Trees that pay while they grow
The same speaker was firm that the upland lots have to work for the farmers who tend them. The urban agro-forestry approach being pursued does not plant forest trees alone. It includes crops that go in alongside them, so that the farmers doing the planting have an income stream while the canopy is still establishing itself.
That economic value is not an afterthought bolted onto a green project. It is the reason the program is called a livelihood program at all, and it is the part most likely to determine whether the trees are still standing in ten years.
What happens next
The ceremonial rites mark the beginning. The work ahead is in the upland barangays — securing the areas that can be planted, matching them with the right mix of trees and crops, and making sure the farmers involved are supported all the way to harvest and market.
You can watch the ceremony clip here.
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