Church in Palawan to plant 20k rattans

After hitting its target of planting 10,000 endemic trees in a protected area last year, the Catholic Church in Palawan wants the province to become greener.

The Apostolic Vicariate of Palawan has recently initiated a rattan planting project with tribal communities in Brooke’s Point town.

Bishop Socrates Mesiona of Puerto Princesa said rattan seedlings are now being prepared and will be planted at the Mt. Panwan on the rainy season.

The project aims to plant 20,000 rattans, in partnership with the Augustinian Missionaries of the Philippines-Indigenous Peoples Mission.

Rattan is a naturally renewable palm that grows in tropical regions and is used for furniture, handicrafts, and building material, among others.

Mesiona said the revival of rattan plantation is not just a greening project but also aims to provide a livelihood to the Pala’wan tribespeople.

In response to Pope Francis’ Laudato Si, the vicariate has also planted 10,000 trees at the Mt. Mantalingahan Protected Landscape in Brooke’s Point in 2019.

Last year, the bishop appealed to save the country’s “last ecological frontier” amid plans to build a coal-fired power plant in Palawan.

He urged the government to reassess the project because of its possible negative impact on the environment.