CONVENIENT access to clean water will soon be realized in far-flung barangays of Caratagan and Marandig in the town of Calinog and Atimonan, Janiuay, Iloilo province as part of the Forestland Management Project (FMP) being implemented by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Western Visayas.
A groundbreaking ceremony of the Irrigation Pipeline System (IPS) Agroforestry Support Facility (ASF) was conducted in Calinog town recently, which is seen to boost the town’s agricultural sector and to slowly spur on economic growth.
The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) Iloilo through its Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Barotac Nuevo have conducted ground breaking ceremonies of Irrigation Pipeline System (IPS) Agroforestry Support Facility (ASF) of the Caratagan Upland Sustainable Water Green Association (CUSWGA) in Brgy. Caratagan, Calinog, and of the Marandig Upland Sustainable Project Association (MUSPA), a People’s Organization in Brgy. Marandig, Calinog, recently.
Iloilo PENR Officer Salvador Manglinong, Jr. spearheaded the event with the presence of other PENRO staff, Philippine Army representatives, People’s Organization (PO) members, local government unit and project contractor.
Meanwhile, a groundbreaking ceremony of the Irrigation Pipeline System (IPS) of the Aktibong Mangunguma sa Barangay Atimonan (AMBA) and the Pre-Construction Conference was also recently conducted at Sitio Salay, Atimonan, Janiuay, Iloilo.
FMP Provincial Focal Person Antonio Latoza, Jr., Municipal ENR Officer of Janiuay, CENRO Barotac Nuevo staff, People’s members, LGUs and project contractor attended the said activity.
The project costs over P7 million and consists of supplies and installation of 5,202 meters of high-density polyethylene pipes with a Standard Dimension Ratio 17 located at Suage Sub-watershed in Janiuay, Iloilo.
“This project aims to improve our upland communities’ access to basic necessities such as water and agro-products thereby advancing their quality of life. Slowly but surely, the implementation of the Forestland Management Project is providing holistic solutions both for the people’s economic benefit while also improving our forest condition,” said Francisco Milla, Jr., regional executive director of the DENR-6.
FMP is a ten-year DENR–Japan International Cooperation Agency project which began in 2012 and shall be completed by 2022. It aims to strengthen forestland management in three critical river basins in the country, namely: Upper Magat and Cagayan, Upper Pampanga, and Jalaur. The implementation is being done through collaborative and comprehensive Community-Based Forest Management strategies. It also aims to improve forest conservation and socio-economic conditions of beneficiaries/communities as well as to contribute in disaster risk mitigation efforts of vulnerable areas.(DENR 6/PN)
