Want Your Diploma? First Plant 10 Trees, New Law in Philippines Rules

A new law in the Philippines would make planting at least 10 trees a prerequisite to high school or college graduation. Passed by the country’s lower parliamentary house, the law is aimed at combating climate change through reforestation.

“With over 12 million students graduating from elementary and nearly five million students graduating from high school and almost 500,000 graduating from college each year, this initiative, if properly implemented, will ensure that at least 175 million new trees would be planted each year,” says the Philippines’ Magdalo Party representative Gary Alejano, principal author of the legislation. “In the course of one generation, no less than 525 billion can be planted under this initiative.”

Aside from the trees tackling climate issues by absorbing carbon, the country – one of the most severely deforested in the world – hopes the legislation will make future generations more environmentally cautious and promote more green initiatives.