Honda Foundation, Inc. (HFI), composed of the Honda Group of Companies (Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), Honda Philippines, Inc. (HPI), Honda Parts Manufacturing Corporation (HPMC) and Honda Trading Philippines) recently conducted its Tree Planting activity with 5,000 tree saplings planted in Real, Quezon.

Honda has been actively contributing in the restoration of the Philippines’ rainforests through this effort. Not only does the activity help restore communities and ecosystems, the tree planting activity also contributes solutions to environmental problems such as climate change and air pollution.

Done in partnership with Haribon’s Forest For Life Movement, Honda aims to restore damaged rainforests through planting various native tree species such as Narra, Apitong, and Lauan. “For 10 years now, we have been doing tree planting with Haribon and our commitment to leave blue skies for our children goes stronger.” Mr. Hirotake Shimosaka, HFI adviser mentioned during his opening remarks. Since 2010, around 50,000 trees have already been planted across 36 hectares of damaged forests in the provinces of Laguna, Quezon and Rizal.

According to a biophysical survey conducted by Haribon to check the health of the reforested areas, about 28 species of birds were found in the various restored habitats. 18 of these species are endemic to the Philippines. Some of these birds are the Philippine Magpie-robin (Copsychus mindanensis), the Blue Headed Fantail (Rhipidura cyaniceps), the Lowland White-eye (Zosterops meyeni), and the Sulphur-billed Nuthatch (Sitta oenochlamys). The presence of these birds highlights the progress of reforestation as efforts continue to make a better ecosystem for local communities and wildlife conservation.

Aside from recovering biodiversity, clean air and water, resilience to climate change and natural hazards, the project also provides options for sustainable livelihood to nearby communities. In line with Honda’s 2030 vision of providing a sustainable society for the next generation, the reforestation activities also provides livelihood support to community partners who become caretakers of these reforested areas to ensure the survival of the newly planted trees and reforested communities for future generations.