The National Greening Program Just Got Greener

On February 24, 2011, the president of the Philippines, Benigno S. Aquino, issued Executive Order No. 26, launching the National Greening Program (NGP). The program involves the planting of 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares of public domain lands from 2011 to 2016. It is the latest

Phenology to Promote Environmental Values among Youth

A phenological study requires patience and observation skills, scientific rigor to record accurate data, and lots of perseverance. Not exactly the task for a child, one would think; but ELTI leaders Adriana and Julián Giraldo think different, and for a reason. A few years ago, when they were still

APASPE Learns About Organic Fertilizers

As part of the continuing capacity building efforts contemplated in their Small Grants Programme project, APASPE members recently attended a workshop on organic fertilizers and pesticides. During the past year and with support from ELTI's Leadership Program, APASPE members have

Resource Extraction and Infrastructure Development in Tropical Forests

Despite covering only 7% of the Earth’s emergent land surface, tropical forests are believed to house up to half of the Earth’s biodiversity and to support the livelihoods of 1.4 billion people. These ecosystems, however, continue to be lost at an alarming rate driven by conventional land

ELTI Leader: Eufracio Maratas

Name: Eufracio "Dodong" Maratas Jr.
Organization: Municipality of Pilar, Camotes, Cebu, Philippines
Position: Vice Mayor
ELTI Event: Rainforestation National Trainer’s Training, April 2009, Leyte, Philippines

Symposium on Restoring Coal Mines in Indonesia

The province of East Kalimantan, Indonesia is one of the country’s largest producers and suppliers of coal. Vast tracts of lands have been degraded due to this economically important, yet environmentally and socially–damaging activity. Regulations that govern the rehabilitation of

Rene Vendiola Wins Prestigious Award!

We are thrilled to announce that on March 22, 2012, Mr. Rene “Nong Ite” Vendiola won the prestigious Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) Award in the Exemplary Individual category for his work on Rainforestation in Negros Oriental, Philippines. Rene was selected among 300

Visit to Más Bosques para Medellín Project

During a recent trip to Colombia, ELTI alumn Jaddy Toro guided ELTI staff on visit to the Más Bosques para Medellín project. As we visited different sites, she explained how she is now applying concepts learned in the ELTI-CIPAV course to improve plantation designs, favor

Inventory of Native Trees in Caquetá, Colombia

ELTI leaders, Oscar Tafur and Edwin Hurtado, recently launched their project to conduct a floristic inventory of native trees in Caquetá, Colombia, located at the transition between the Andean foothills and the Amazon region. Over the next 10 months they will focus on identifying native

ELTI Gathers Information for New Online Training Program

The Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative (ELTI) is developing a Web-Based Training and Certificate Program that aims to strengthen the capacity of students and field practitioners to design and implement forest conservation/restoration strategies.