The Philippines Creates Law That Requires Students To Plant 10 Trees If They Want To Graduate

Jun 03, 2019 by apost team

Want to graduate in this country? You'll have to plant some trees! The informal tradition of planting trees upon graduating has just become formal in the Philippines. 

The country recently introduced a law that requires students in high school and college to plant at least 10 trees. They must do this in order to graduate. Gary Alejana of the Magdalo Party authored the new law.

According to him, students would be responsible for planting 175 million trees every year. By his calculations, in a single generation, that would amount to at least 525 billion new trees, reports the Independent.

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The law contains some requirements about what types of trees can be planted and where. The trees have to be planted in designated areas. This includes mangroves and current forests. Certain urban locations have also been designated as tree-planting locations.

Students must choose trees that fit the location—the trees need to be able to grow and thrive in the climate. Trees that already naturally grow in the chosen habitat are preferred.

Who will oversee all of this? The law includes that. It puts various government, educational, and environmental agencies in charge. They will choose and prepare tree-planting sites and also monitor students.

As to why the Philippines has chosen to pass this law now, it's a simple matter of climate change. The country used to be covered in forests. In the past 100 years, they've gone from being 70 percent covered in forest to 20 percent. Illegal logging is a huge problem. Without the tree-covered areas, the country is more vulnerable to flooding and other environmental problems.

What do you think about the Philippines' new law? Should other countries around the world try something similar? Let us know in the comments and pass this along to your friends and family!