Metro Manila's Urban Greening Initiative — DENR Mini-Forests, Tree Corridors & Green-Space Mapping

Rapid urbanisation had stripped much of Metro Manila's tree cover, worsening urban heat and flood risk across the National Capital Region's 16 cities and one municipality.
Since 2019 the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' NCR office (DENR-NCR) has adapted the national reforestation programme to the built-up city: mini-forests, linear parks, pocket gardens and tree corridors along major roads, riverbanks and residential areas. In April 2022, DENR-NCR signed a formal memorandum of agreement with the Pasig City government to expand urban greening, and its Community Pan-Tree Program has distributed over 100,000 seedlings to resident caretakers across the region.
Remote-sensing analysis shows NCR's green cover rose from 12.08% in 2015 to 20.48% in 2021 — an increase of roughly 70%. By 2025, DENR-NCR had documented about 11,000 hectares of parks, tree-lined roads, gardens and other green assets, and it reports an 80% survival rate for seedlings distributed through the Pan-Tree Program. The 7.8-kilometre Pasig River Esplanade, a planted pedestrian and cycling corridor, is among the flagship results.
Coverage remains uneven: of Metro Manila's 17 local government units, only Muntinlupa and Quezon City currently meet the WHO standard for green space per capita, and a 2024 academic tree-planting-prioritisation study (ISPRS) found planting has not yet been systematically targeted to the areas with the least canopy — a reminder that citywide averages can mask large gaps between districts.

Read the full analysis: https://pia.gov.ph/features/breathing-life-into-metro-manila-the-denrs-urban-greening-initiative/