KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Bernama) -- Yayasan PETRONAS has earned an ASEAN Green Initiative (AGI) recognition for Large-Scale Tree Planting Initiatives following its efforts to plant 57,545 trees in Malaysia under the foundation’s tree-planting activities in support of PETRONAS’ Walk4Trees Programme.
Over a two-year period, Yayasan PETRONAS and its project implementation partner Global Environment Centre (GEC) had planted 62 species of trees with the support of 24 community groups at 14 project sites across 11 states in Malaysia.
The recognition was announced at a special awards ceremony in Jakarta, Indonesia recently in conjunction with the Regional Forum on Ecosystem Restoration organised by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, who is also the AGI organiser. On hand to receive the award were Yayasan PETRONAS Chief Executive Officer, Shariah Nelly Francis and GEC Director, Faizal Parish.
Shariah Nelly said, "The recognition by AGI, alongside the quality of awardees shared with Yayasan PETRONAS and our partner GEC is a testament to the strength of this growing movement of grassroots initiatives in restoring the region’s rich biodiversity and elevate the livelihood of the communities we work with. The recognition also demonstrates an enduring commitment and passion to the work that is both humbling and inspiring to see. We would be very happy to share our stories and lessons learnt, and in turn we also hope to learn from other organisations to further our efforts.
The AGI, a biennial programme that started in 2021, aims to ramp up restoration efforts via a tree-planting movement in the region. It targets to plant at least 10 million trees in 10 ASEAN Member states over a period of 10 years. Organisations and programmes nominated for the inaugural AGI recognition this year were evaluated on the merit of the project’s ecological soundness, socio-economic impact, sustainability, and compliance with governance and institutional mechanisms.
Faizal congratulated Yayasan PETRONAS on the award and also took the opportunity to recognise the efforts of the local communities and government agencies that were key to driving the success of the programme.
“The participation of local community groups at all the project sites was critical to the success of the initiative. All the trees were grown in community nurseries and later planted and maintained by community members. This enabled the project to be completed successfully even during the COVID-19 pandemic when movement was restricted. The bulk of the funds for the initiative were passed to the local community, providing important supplementary income during the pandemic and creating new income generating options for the future,” Faizal added.
To date, through the cohesive efforts alongside GEC, Yayasan PETRONAS has successfully planted 71,538 trees with a 78.1% survival rate.
