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ENVIRONMENT
Secretary Jose "Lito" Atienza has directed
Bureau of Forest Management Director Romeo Acosta to
implement two proposals presented by Gov. Erico Aumentado
and other Bohol leaders in their meeting Wednesday at
the former's office in Diliman, Quezon City.
The
first concerns reforestation of seven watersheds or
major river basins while the other proposes the joint
management by the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB),
the local government unit (LGU) of Bilar and the Provincial
Tourism
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DENR
Sec. Lito Atienza (center) listens to Bohol officials
who discussed two major proposals on reforestation and
tourism at DENR-Manila offices last Wednesday. The group
was led by Gov. Erico Aumentado, Reps. Edgar Chatto
and Adam Jala. |
Council
(PTC) of the Magsaysay Park in Logarita, Riverside, Bilar town.
Aumentado
made the announcement during Friday's edition of The Governor
Reports, simulcast over three Bohol radio stations and delayed
broadcast over a fourth.
The
governor brought along congressmen, Provincial Board (PB)
members and the president of the Bohol Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (BCCI) as he proposed that the government tap
the private sector in its reforestation efforts including
in idle and barren alienable and disposable (A & D) lands.
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Among
others, the Philippine Agricultural Land Development
and Mill, Inc. (PALM, Inc.) has expressed interest to
plant 10,000 hectares more of idle and barren lands
to oil palm to enable it to expand the production of
its processing plant from palm oil to biofuel as well.
However,
oil palm is best productive in areas with slope of below
18 degrees only so that for areas with slope of 18 degrees
and above, Aumentado proposed the planting of indigenous
forestal and fruit trees to sustain the forest cover
to protect the potable water and ensure its availability
for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation.
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The
governor also presented to Atienza the Bohol Integrated Water
Supply System Master Plan (BIWSSMP) crafted by Woodfields
Consultants, Inc. under the auspices of the Local Governance
for Development Project (LGDP) with funding from the Australian
Agency for International Development (AusAID).
A
major component of the master plan, he pointed out, is reforestation.
He
also let BCCI President Norris Oculam present a private sector
plan to reforest around 1,800 hectares of the Carood Watershed
particularly in the Ubay-Mabini-Alicia (UMA) area using a
novel strategy: tapping people's organizations (POs).
These
partnerships with the private sector in protecting and preserving
forests have caught Atienza's attention so that he now uses
the Bohol model in his speeches to ignite interest in his
listeners and for other provinces to emulate, Aumentado observed.
The
secretary was also all ears to the governor's plan of establishing
a DBP forest in Bohol. Under the scheme, the Development Bank
of the Philippines provides the funds to buy the seeds or
seedlings, planting them, and managing the forest to ensure
the trees' survivability.
For
the duration of the management period, Oculam said the members
of the POs may even be hired to watch over the newly planted
trees against foraging animals, brush fires and others.
Magsaysay
Park
On
the other hand, Magsaysay Park, a favorite special interest
eco-tourism destination needs more facilities in order to
become even more attractive.
To
note, arts patroness Bea Zobel Jr. and the LGUs of Bohol and
Bilar had brought youth campers to Magsaysay Park last May
for arts workshops, graced by Presidential Daughter Luli Macapagal
Arroyo. The area is also a favorite campsite for boy scouts
and girl scouts.
PB
member Ester Corazon Galbreath who chairs the Committee of
Tourism and co-chairs PTC expressed elation over the development,
saying there will finally be concrete steps to improve the
park.
Meanwhile,
the provincial government has started concreting the road
leading to Magsaysay Park. Aumentado said he will cause the
completion of the concreting of the road of this part of Barangay
Riverside within the year.
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