Cagayan River rehab highlights DENR R2 year-end confab

The Cagayan River took center stage in the year-end management conference of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) held on December 17 in Tuguegarao City.

 

Undersecretary for Field Operations and Environment Juan Miguel T. Cuna who graced the conference discussed the interventions for the Cagayan River rehabilitation identified by the Build Back Better (BBB) Task Force led by Secretary Roy A. Cimatu which include immediate dredging of sandbars and easement recovery.

 

“We want to make sure that all the support will be given to your region because our Secretary wants us to facilitate our activities para hindi maabutan ng susunod na bagyo,” the top official said emphasizing the support of other national government agencies and the office of President Rodrigo Duterte.

 

He also announced the creation of special composite teams to intensify anti-illegal logging operations in Cagayan Valley, the Bicol Region and the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape.

 

USec. Cuna ordered the field officials to work closely with the law enforcement agencies and the local government units to undertake preventive measures to curb illegal logging.

 

Regional Executive Director Gwendolyn C. Bambalan enumerated in her message the challenges faced by Cagayan Valley due to recent natural calamities which turned to opportunities.

 

“The calamity provided us some revisiting of our policies. We realized that when we are talking about watershed management, we should plant native species. We learned to realize the importance of protecting the riverbanks,” she said.

The regional environment official also relayed Secretary Cimatu’s directive on planting of bamboos not only for riverbank stabilization but also for livelihood of the people living near the riverbanks.

 

The overview and initial initiatives on BBB Program, and updates on Quality Management System were presented during the conference.

 

The physical and financial performance on the DENR priority programs, namely; clean air; clean water; solid waste management; geohazard, groundwater assessment and responsible mining; enhanced national greening program; intensified forest protection and anti-illegal logging; enhanced biodiversity conservation; scaling up of coastal and marine ecosystems; and improved land administration and management were also discussed.

 

The implementation plans on the programs and projects for calendar year 2021 will be presented on the second day of the conference.#