DENR Organizes Councils to Help Implement Watershed Management Program
Vol. XVIII No. 7 (Nov. 22-28, 2014)
BONTOC, Mountain Province – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has organized three watershed management councils to assist and provide policy guidelines in the implementation of the Integrated Natural Resources and Environment Management Program (INREMP).
INREMP is an eight-year (2014-2020) watershed management project to be implemented along the Upper Chico River Basin and funded by a P2.2 Billion loan from the Asian Development Bank, International Food and Agriculture Development and a grant from the Global Economic Fund and the Government of the Philippines through it Climate Change Fund.
The INREMP project seeks to reduce and reverse the degradation of watersheds caused by denudation and unsustainable farming practices. It provides incentives to communities and local government units properly managing their watersheds.
Two created councils at the municipal levels are the Bauko or KABAMAAM Watershed Management Council and the Bontoc or BAAGMADOLI Watershed Management Council.
KABAMAAM and BAAGMADOLI are acronyms of the names of rivers and creeks tributaries to the Chico River which are the coverage of the INREMP in Mountain Province.
The KABAMAAM Watershed Management Council is chaired by Bauko mayor Abraham Akilit with Ligaya Poled of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist as co-chair while the BAAGMADOLI Watershed Management Council has Bontoc mayor Franklin Odsey as chairman and Hungduan, Ifugao vice-mayor Juliet Ananayo as vice-chairperson.
The third council is the Provincial INREMP Watershed Management Council which is chaired by governor Leonard Mayaen and co-chaired by DENR OIC Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Manuel Pogeyed.
Members of the councils come from key offices of the national, provincial, academe and the local government units and the peoples’ organization in the INREMP coverage area including that of Hungduan, Ifugao.
The councils will also serve as the forum for arriving at consensus on land use, conflict resolution on natural resource management and natural resource-based investments within the Chico River basin.
The three council also organized their respective Technical Working Groups to provide technical support including the preparation of watershed management plans and programs. The TWG also recommends priority projects and investment programs for watershed management and conduct management studies and make appropriate recommendations for adoption by the councils./JDP/ABD- PIA CAR, Mountain Province
