By
Alonso T. Ruda
DIPOLOG
CITY – It is confirmed that India’s record as having planted the
most number of trees in one hour is now history. Mindanao’s TreeVolution beat
India.
Department
of Environment and Natural Resources-Zamboanga del Norte Provincial Environment
and Natural Resources Office(DENR-PENRO) announced that
the Mindanao-wide tree planting activity last year dubbed “TreeVolution:
Greening Mindanao had surpassed the record earlier established by India.
Maribel
Acama of PENRO-Zamboanga del Nortesaid the 2.294 million trees planted in one
hour in the different regions of Mindanao had broken India’s record and it was officially
entered as the new record in the Guinness Book of World Record.
It
maybe recalled that DENR in partnership with Mindanao Development Authority
(MINDA) spearheaded the tree planting activity on Sept. 26, 2014 from 8:30 to
9:30 a.m.
Among
the trees planted during the one-hour activity include cacao, coffee, rubber,
mangrove and fruit trees.
Prior
to Mindanaoans’ recording-break accomplishment, India had 1,945,535 trees
planted in one hour in 408 locations, making it in the Guinness Book of World
Record.
The
regionsthat participated in the record-breaking tree planting activity are
regions 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and Autonomous in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
For
its feat, DENR-PENRO thanked all those who participated in the said undertaking.
The
Mindanaoans’ accomplishment did not only break India’s record but it also helped
in achieving DENR’s 2014 National Greening Program (NGP) target for Mindanao,
and contributed to the realization of its target to plant trees in 690,815
hectares by 2016.
Guinness
Book of World Records is the official reference and ultimate authority for
world records and has been recording the world’s achievement since 1955 wherein
copies are distributed in more than 100 countries and translated into 20
languages.