To deliberate strategies on how to enhance water conservation efforts through enhanced protection of the Cagayan River, members of the Cagayan River Basin Management Council (CRBMC) covering Regions 2, 3 and the Cordilleras recently convened at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Office , Tuguegarao City.

 

DENR Cagayan Valley Regional Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan emphasized the integration of various agencies' conservation measures for the updating of the Integrated Cagayan River Basin (CRB) Master Plan.

 

“The CRB Master Plan serves as the backbone of the council in the implementation of policies, rules and regulations and in resolving issues concerning the management of Cagayan River Basin,” said Director Bambalan who presided over the executive committe meeting.

 

In the meeting, lead convenor agencies presented their contributions in line with their mandates to enhance activities within the CRB focusing climate actions. The agencies include DENR, Environmental Management Bureau, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Office of the Civil Defense, National Irrigation Administration, Department of Public Works and Highways, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

 

The University of the Philippines Los Banos represented by Dr. Rex Victor Cruz presented the status of the ongoing updating of the CRB Master Plan.

 

Meanwhile, Nelson Gorospe, River Basin Control Office Executive Director, emphasized to mainstream all related land use and watershed plans in the CRB master plan for better implementation.

 

As proposed by the National Economic and Development Authority, the council will issue a resolution for the DOST-PAGASA to submit proposal on the upgrading and maintenance of additional monitoring weather stations and equipment.

 

Once the plan shall have been updated, the council technical working group will meet to ensure complementation of the agencies and to identify priority area for the river basin enhancement project.

 

The meeting was also attended by representatives from the local government units, non-government organizations, academe, and other government agencies from the three regions.

 

The CRBMC is an implementing body to oversee the overall implementation of its six major thematic areas, namely; Watershed Management, Water Resources Management, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Wetland Coastal and Freshwater Resources Management, Economic Development, and Institutional Management.#