La Trinidad LGU, EMB-CAR launch BLISTT Green Buffer Zone

June 26, 2021 Provincial

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, June 25(PIA) – The local government of La Trinidad and its partners led a tree planting activity to launch the BLISTT (Baguio City – La Trinidad – Itogon – Sablan – Tuba and Tublay) Green Buffer Zones in the municipality.
Mayor Romeo Salda with Benguet Governor Melchor Diclas, Tublay Mayor Armando Lauro, Environment Management Bureau-CAR Regional Director Victoria Abrera, Land Transportation Office -CAR Assistant Regional Director Jennilyn Avelino and other representatives from the BLISTT led the planting of 28 eugenia trees along the Strawberry Farm diversion road on Wednesday, June 23.
Each member of the BLISTT Governing Board from the different national line agencies together with municipal councilors of La Trinidad and Tublay and representatives from the other BLISTT towns planted a tree.
Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer Art Pedro said that the Green Buffer Zone is a project under the BLISTT Airshed which aims to mitigate the worsening air pollution and improve the air quality thru the planting of more trees or ornamental plants in identified areas within the BLISTT community.
Pedro said that they chose the Eugenia specie to be planted since it can absorb more air pollutants compared to other tree or plant species.
It also has shallow roots which will not damage the plant box even as it grows. Salda hopes that the tree planting project would help improve the air quality in the capital town of Benguet.
Pedro said the project is funded by the EMB-CAR, the lead agency and secretariat of the BLISTT Airshed Governing Board.
Abrera expressed full support to La Trinidad LGU of and the whole BLISTT areas in partnering with projects on improving air,water and protecting the land from toxic and hazardous waste pollution.
“Establishing a Green Buffer Zone is an important project and worth applauding and hopefully all BLISTT areas will follow,” she said.
La Trinidad is one of the municipalities in Benguet that is rapidly urbanizing and which air quality condition is being affected by the increasing number of mobile vehicles that ply the main thoroughfares, and overbuilt business areas as other sources of air pollution, thus undermining their life support functions.
Meanwhile, Diclas congratulated the BLISTT Airshed for the project which supports the campaign to improve the environment. “It is a way of showing that we are protecting our environment.
It is a good project to reduce the air pollution and improve the air we breathe in La Trinidad,” he said.
(JDP/RMC- PIA CAR)