TABUK CITY, Kalinga – In line with the 24th Matagoan Festival, the city government, led by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for watershed development with barangays Agbannawag, Tuga, and Malalao.
Per CENRO, these barangays have land areas that drain water to a single location, such as a stream, river, or lake, are known as watersheds.
These bodies of water supply drinking water, as well as agricultural and manufacturing demands, recreational opportunities, and habitat for a variety of plants and animals and are required for the existence of life and must be protected.
According to CENRO Officer Salud Lammawin, the development of watersheds is a continuous effort for the CENRO and the city government as a whole, and they want to include additional barangays in the near future.
Under the MOA, the city government would provide many services to the three barangays, including, technical support through trainings and seminars, conduct of information, education and communication campaigns among stakeholders/constituents assist in conduct of environmental activities such as clean-up drives and tree planting activities, facilitate coordination between and among government agencies and non-government organizations in the conduct of environmental activities, and conduct monitoring of the implementation of activities to ensure attainment of the desired objectives
As counterpart, the barangays shall develop and submit action plans for the implementation of their environmental management activities/participation, spearhead the implementation of their planned activities for each year, assist in the information education drive on environment protection and conservation for the effective implementation of the activities agreed upon to be undertaken, document experiences/lessons learned and recommendations for improvement in the implementation of the program, and submit reports to the CENRO following the desired format.
Lammawin went on to note that the city government will assist with the construction of a fence as well as the growth of its greening program, in addition to the previous tree-planting initiatives in the three barangays.
“Daytuy watershed development, manipud iti greening program tayu, ket ammu tayu met nga agited naan-anay nga oxygen ken kasta met nga ag-promote to prevent soil erosion and at the same time, flooding,” she said.
