Joining Maynilad in the concerted effort to reforest the watershed are sister company PLDT-Smart, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, the Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR), Municipality of Norzagaray, and the National Commission of Indigenous People (NCIP).
In a Memorandum of Understanding signed early this year, the private firms and government agencies agreed to conduct a series of tree-planting activities for the next three years on 30 hectares of adopted planting sites in the watershed. They will also coordinate in the monitoring and nursing of the saplings as these grow.
Ipo Dam, one of the three major reservoirs that supply raw water to Metro Manila and adjoining towns, continues to suffer from heavy deforestation. With more than half of Ipo’s 6,600-hectare land area now denuded, experts say it may take up to 20 years to rehabilitate the ailing watershed.