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DENR chief to lead Cagayan River rehab
MANILA – Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu is scheduled to spearhead on Tuesday (Feb. 2) the launching of rehabilitation work for northern Luzon’s Cagayan River.
Aside from delivering his keynote message, Cimatu will also lead the ceremonial planting of bamboo along the Cagayan River’s banks.
About 925 bamboo propagules are due for planting along the river’s stretch in Barangay Bangag in Lal-lo town, the DENR said in a statement.
Barangay Bangag is among the villages in Cagayan province which reeled from flooding last year when the river’s water rose and overflowed in the aftermath of Typhoon Ulysses (international name Vamco).
DENR said planting bamboo and clearing of Magapit Narrows, a constricted portion of Cagayan River, are among activities for the rehabilitation work to correspondingly help address bank erosion and facilitate water flow there.
Authorities said Cagayan River is the Philippines’ largest river. It flows in a northerly direction from its headwaters in Nueva Vizcaya province to its mouth in Babuyan Channel near Cagayan’s Aparri municipality.
The launch of Cagayan River’s rehabilitation is among the activities of the World Wetlands Day (WWD) celebration this year.
WWD marks Ramsar Convention’s adoption on Feb. 2, 1971 and aims to raise awareness about the importance of wetlands.
The Philippines is among the parties to Ramsar Convention, the intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation on conservation and wise use of wetlands and resources.
According to the Convention, wetlands are “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters.”
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), as well as Armed Forces of the Philippines, will provide dredging equipment that’ll be used in clearing Magapit Narrows, DENR noted.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar is scheduled to lead the launching’s ceremonial dredging.
Aside from Villar and local officials, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade are also expected to attend the launching.
DENR said about 48 Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)-trained laborers and operators will undertake the planned dredging.
The planting operation will involve some 100 local residents hired as laborers. The residents are beneficiaries of the DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers program.
Experts said wetlands are sources of water and food, serve as habitat and breeding ground of various species as well as provide protection from flooding by absorbing floodwater.
Wetlands also absorb and store carbon emissions linked to climate change, they noted,
This year’s WWD theme is ‘Wetlands and water.’
Such theme highlights wetlands’ contribution to quantity and quality of freshwater worldwide.
Catherine Teves
