The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 2 has sought to fast track land titling and rehabilitate National Greening Program (NGP) sites in the northern most part of Cagayan.

 

In a dialogue with municipal vice mayor Edmund Escalante during the visit at Calayan Group of Islands on May 13-14, this year, Regional Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan of DENR Cagayan Valley proposed a partnership between the local government of Calayan and DENR through a memorandum of partnership agreement (MOPA) to expedite public land titling process and issuance in the municipality.

 

Through the MOPA, a land-matter help desk shall be established in the municipality with technical assistance from CENRO Sanchez Mira and PENRO Cagayan.

 

With over 4,000 hectares of alienable and disposable lands in Calayan, Director Bambalan instructed to conduct inventory of public lands to identify areas that have yet to be titled.

 

Aside from security of tenure, Director Bambalan said the land titles will help the LGU generate additional revenue that would improve the town's economic development.

 

The regional environment chief also solicited the support of the LGU to improve the status of the 148-hectare NGP area established in the municipality.

 

The DENR through its ‘tree replacement program’ in partnership with mining companies in the region will fund the establishment of additional plantations in Calayan under the enhanced NGP.

 

This initiative aims to create employment opportunities for the locals by engaging them in the development and maintenance of additional NGP sites.

 

Meanwhile, to heighten proper waste management in the municipality, a waste composter and a shredder will be awarded to the LGU by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).

 

“Napakaganda ng bayan ng Calayan. I hope this will never be disturbed and destructed,” said RED Bambalan.

 

After the dialogue, the team monitored Dalupiri and Camiguin, still parts of the Calayan Group of Islands, and Fuga island under the jurisdiction of Aparri town using the new watercraft of DENR Cagayan Valley named MB (motor boat) Sierra in celebration of 2023 Month of the Ocean.

 

The high-end motor boat will be used for ground trotting, water quality monitoring, habitat assessment and survey, and other enforcement activities like seaboard patrolling and monitoring.

 

In its maiden voyage, Director Bambalan was also joined by Cagayan PENR Officer Enrique Pasion, Sanchez Mira CENR Officer Marina Galzote, Aparri CENR Officer Joselito Razon, other DENR and EMB officials, and the Philippine National Police - Maritime Group Aparri.

 

The DENR team also conducted biophysical assessment at Calayan and Camiguin islands.#

Anchored to the theme, “Sustainably Feed the Global Population,” the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will feature ocean and nature-based food and other biodiversity-friendly enterprise (BDFE) products in celebration of the month of the ocean this May.

 

The products will be displayed through a mini trade fair at the DENR Regional Office, Carig Sur, Tuguegarao City from May 15-31.

 

“We would like to help our People’s Organizations promote their BDFE products to support their alternative source of livelihood,” said Conservation and Development Division Assistant Chief Ma. Salome Bonnit over a radio interview yesterday.

 

Among the products to be displayed are seaweed chips, dibang (dried flying fish), woven bags, wooden utensils, among others.

Apart from the trade fair, the Department will conduct cleanup drives along coastal areas and waterways. ‘ScuBasureros’, who are trained divers, will conduct cleanup within the marine protected area networks in the region.

 

Mangroves will be planted at the Palaui Island Protected Landscape and Seascape in Sta. Ana, Cagayan during the Agency’s regional management conference to be held this month.

 

Assistant Chief Bonnit encouraged the public to participate in all of the Department’s conservation and protection activities especially in the cleanup of wastes from different waterways that directly go to the ocean.

 

“We have to stop plastic and other waste from flowing to the ocean by being responsible in managing waste from our respective homes,” she added.#

Envisioning a more ecologically sound and healthy community, members of the Divilacan Student Advocates for Forest and Environmental Resilience (D-SAFER) in Divilacan, Isabela have committed to conserve marine and forest biodiversity within their town covered by the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (NSMNP).

 

In an environmental youth congress recently held by the municipal local government unit (LGU) in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 2, the one year-old youth organization has crafted an action plan prioritizing marine biodiversity conservation, native tree growing, and waste management activities.

 

“We need to make the minds of these young students in shape of environmental leadership as the legacy of protecting the northern Sierra Madre will be passed on to them,” said Municipal ENR Officer Arturo Umengan.

 

With the theme, “Engaging the Youth in Environmental Protection and Conservation,” the youth congress engaged the participants in coastal cleanup and sea turtle monitoring in celebration of the month of the ocean.

 

Newly-elected D-SAFER President Randy Sogelio said among their priority advocacies is the conservation of marine turtles that maintain the productivity of coral reef ecosystems, thus, ensuring an increased population of fish for the local’s food consumption and livelihood.

 

“We will conduct information drives in 12 barangays of Divilacan to campaign for sea turtles conservation informing our fishermen to immediately release bycatch turtles and to not disturb when they come to shore to lay eggs,” he added.

 

The organization will also be conducting regular cleanup drives along coastlines and within the waterways in their community.

 

Sogelio said the cleanup within waterways will serve as a preventive measure to avoid the recurrence of flood during heavy rains in the town proper.

 

To promote the ecotourism spots of Divilacan, the organization also committed to improve and develop new sites including the Lanai Marine Turtle Nesting Sanctuary in Brgy. Bicobian in partnership with the LGU.

 

In his closing message, Engr. Ezikiel Chavez of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office lauded the youth leaders for their enthusiam and commitment to safeguard the environment and to sustain a cleaner and healthier Divilacan.

 

During the congress, the members of the organization who are all students of Divilacan National High School were also taught about disaster preparedness, mitigation, and resilience; sustainable ecotourism; ecological solid waste management through the launching of Pinas: Basura Buster; the importance of forest and marine ecosystems of NSMNP; and environmental leadership.

 

Among the resource speakers were representatives from the DENR, LGU, Provincial Youth Development Office, and Isabela Coastal Development Office.#

The Cagayan Valley Bamboo Industry Development Council (CVBIDC) in a meeting yesterday has eyed bamboos as potential lumber alternative to escalate the bamboo industry in the region.

 

Regional Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region (DENR) Region 2 said the Department is now promoting bamboos as better source for lumber alternative aside from the benefits they provide as solution to climate change.

 

“We have been strengthening our efforts in incorporating in our nursery establishment the production of bamboos aside from the indigenous tree species that we are producing," said Director Bambalan who presided over the meeting.

 

In support of bamboo growing, the DENR has partnered with the DTI and Department of Labor and Employment in October 2022 to ensure the survival of the bamboos planted last September.

 

Since 2011 to date, the DENR Region 2 reported a total of 4,401.2 hectares established bamboo sites planted with 636,264 bayog, kawayang tinik and kiling under the National Greening Program to include in areas covered by the Regional Build Back Better Task Force initiative of the government.

 

According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 2, bamboos are good source of material in designing and manufacturing engineered bamboo house kits. "The whole structure of the Cubo modular now known in the provinces of Sarangani and Bulacan were all made up of bamboo," said DTI staff Mona Lisa Valle in her presentation.

 

Winston Singun, assistant regional director of DTI Region 2 stressed the importance of bamboo as viable economic and natural resource. "With the effort of the council, we can enhance our bamboo enterprise and make the livelihood of our local farmers more profitable," he said.

 

Growing bamboo is important in mitigating the effects of climate change as it can sequester more carbon than any other types of trees and can aid in riverbank stabilization.

 

The council meeting also discussed several interventions such as crafting of convergence plan among stakeholders, review of the Bamboo Bills filed in Congress, management of bamboo database, and presentation of bamboo best practices.

 

It was highlighted with the presentation of various Bamboo Project Accomplishments of the 12 council members present comprising government agencies, academe, and the provincial bamboo industry development councils of Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya.#

 

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Cagayan Valley launches today online land management services to improve performance and promote accessibility of services to the public.

 

Pilot DENR offices which will cater the online Land Administration and Management System (LAMS)-Public Land Application are located at the regional office and provincial environment and natural resources offices (PENRO) in Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino, while the electronic frontline for the land records are accessible at the different field offices in the region.

 

The LAMS-PLA system initiated by the Land Management Bureau headed by Atty. Emelyne Talabis establishes a digital cadastral database capable of managing all the land records of the entire country. It also aims to integrate all land information from the regional and field offices into a centralized database, and unify all land processes in a single application system.

 

Through the concerted effort of members of the regional executives under the leadership of RED Bambalan, the DENR Region 2 was able to conceptualize the said e-frontline services.

 

In her message during the simultaneous launch, Director Bambalan said through the online system, the transacting public can easily access major land records since requesting the document is now available online.

 

“The directions of our Department is to promote efficiency, economy, accuracy and transparency in our operations. This newly-launched online land management services will definitely minimize the cost, time and effort and enable our clients to use their time attending to their livelihood, families and office works instead of traveling to Tuguegarao City just to secure land records from the regional office,” she said.

 

She also underscored that technology will also make the office operation more meaningful and convenient. “The application of technology will improve our ability to serve our clients or customers and promote higher performance among our personnel and make their work effective and efficient,” she added.

 

Available online services are technical description, blue print of approved survey plan, narrative technical description, cadastral or projection map, survey envelop documents; and geographic position and plane coordinates.

 

To avail the online request for land records, one should visit DENR website at r2.denr.gov.ph and complete the required information. The request will be processed and picked up at the concerned DENR office. The requesting party will receive updates on the status of request via email and mobile number.

 

Also included in the region’s developed online systems were the online monitoring system for seedlings inventory and online job portal application.

 

The region is currently developing an online system for the processing and approval of the certificate for wildlife registration, leave management system, and online payment with the Land Bank of the Philippines.

 

Also gracing the event were Assistant Regional Executive Directors Ismael Manaligod and Marcos Dacanay and other DENR officials in the regional and field offices, representatives from the municipal local government units; and the president of the Geodetic Engineers of the Philippines.#