The Cordillera Department of Environment has asked local officials to prevent the massive and illegal deforestation of the Mount Pulag national park, as consequences for the environment could be dramatic.
The Cordillera Department of Environment has asked local officials to prevent the massive and illegal deforestation of the Mount Pulag national park, as consequences for the environment could be dramatic.
Below is an article written by Dexter A. See and published by the Manila Bulletin:
KABAYAN, Benguet – The Cordillera office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has challenged officials of the various towns of Benguet and Ifugao to have the political will to stop the massive deforestation of the Mt. Pulag National Park, the second highest peak in the country.
Samuel Penafiel, DENR Cordillera director, aired the call after he successfully reached the summit of the mountain and saw for himself the deteriorating condition of Mt. Pulag, a tourist spot.
He admitted that the situation at the Mt. Pulag slopes is alarming, and said collaborated effort must be done by the various stakeholders to prevent the mossy forest from being destroyed by enterprising individuals who want to enrich themselves at the expense of the environment and to the disadvantage of the people in the lowland who are relying on the Cordillera as their source of water for domestic and irrigation purposes.
It was learned that some people in the towns of Buguias, Bokod, Kabayan and Atok and Tinoc, all in Ifugao, are reportedly funding the expansion of vegetable farms in the Mt. Pulag reservation, an activity which poses a serious threat to the mossy forest.
Penafiel said the DENR is doing its best to protect the remaining forest cover in the region, but local officials should play a vital role in going after violators of the forestry law so that unscrupulous people would have second thought in undertaking activities that causes the further destruction of the forest.
Earlier, Engineer Abraham Akilit, regional manager of the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) in the Cordillera, expressed fears that sources of water for domestic and irrigation uses in the different Cordillera communities and the lowland provinces would dry up if the present rate of deforestation in forest reservations such as Mt. Data and Mt. Pulag National Parks continue.
The Cordillera Region serves as the water reservoir of Northern Luzon because the water being used for domestic and irrigation purposes comes from the region’s watersheds.
Akilit is spearheading a revitalized watershed rehabilitation and management program which is aimed at empowering children and community folk to care for the environment by planting trees.
He said that the program provides a reward system for residents who will actively participate in the program. The fruits of the planted trees will be theirs, he also said.
The program is piloted in 16 barangays alongside the Bayudan River in Bauko, Mountain Province.
It is expected to expand in other critical areas of the different watersheds so that the present generation would have something to inherit.
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
June 7 2007
Source: Bro Martin D. Francisco
Cordillera: Massive Deforestation
The Cordillera Department of Environment has asked local officials to
prevent the massive and illegal deforestation of the Mount Pulag
national park, as consequences for the environment could be dramatic.
The Cordillera Department of Environment has asked local officials to
prevent the massive and illegal deforestation of the Mount Pulag
national park, as consequences for the environment could be dramatic.
Below is an article written by Dexter A. See and published by the Manila Bulletin:
KABAYAN, Benguet – The Cordillera office of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has challenged officials of the
various towns of Benguet and Ifugao to have the political will to stop
the massive deforestation of the Mt. Pulag National Park, the second
highest peak in the country.
Samuel Penafiel, DENR Cordillera
director, aired the call after he successfully reached the summit of the
mountain and saw for himself the deteriorating condition of Mt. Pulag, a
tourist spot.
He admitted that the situation at the Mt. Pulag
slopes is alarming, and said collaborated effort must be done by the
various stakeholders to prevent the mossy forest from being destroyed by
enterprising individuals who want to enrich themselves at the expense
of the environment and to the disadvantage of the people in the lowland
who are relying on the Cordillera as their source of water for domestic
and irrigation purposes.
It was learned that some people in the
towns of Buguias, Bokod, Kabayan and Atok and Tinoc, all in Ifugao, are
reportedly funding the expansion of vegetable farms in the Mt. Pulag
reservation, an activity which poses a serious threat to the mossy
forest.
Penafiel said the DENR is doing its best to protect the
remaining forest cover in the region, but local officials should play a
vital role in going after violators of the forestry law so that
unscrupulous people would have second thought in undertaking activities
that causes the further destruction of the forest.
Earlier,
Engineer Abraham Akilit, regional manager of the National Irrigation
Authority (NIA) in the Cordillera, expressed fears that sources of water
for domestic and irrigation uses in the different Cordillera
communities and the lowland provinces would dry up if the present rate
of deforestation in forest reservations such as Mt. Data and Mt. Pulag
National Parks continue.
The Cordillera Region serves as the
water reservoir of Northern Luzon because the water being used for
domestic and irrigation purposes comes from the region’s watersheds.
Akilit is spearheading a revitalized watershed rehabilitation and
management program which is aimed at empowering children and community
folk to care for the environment by planting trees.
He said
that the program provides a reward system for residents who will
actively participate in the program. The fruits of the planted trees
will be theirs, he also said.
The program is piloted in 16 barangays alongside the Bayudan River in Bauko, Mountain Province.
It is expected to expand in other critical areas of the different
watersheds so that the present generation would have something to
inherit.
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
June 7 2007
