BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
RAMON, Isabela (November 14)—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) spearheaded a participatory convergence meeting pushing for strong management support among environment stakeholders focusing on the protection of the Magat watershed and rehabilitation of Magat Dam.
During the convergence meeting here on November 11, National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Administrator Benny Antiporda underscored the significance of interagency collaboration to ensure the protection of Magat Dam.
“An interagency collaboration will also ensure the stability of the environment and safety of people living in the region’s low-lying areas,” Antiporda said with a proposal to dredge the Magat reservoir.
He said there is a need to dredge the Magat reservoir to remove the sediments and stabilize the water level during heavy rains and recommended developing an ecological park within the said multipurpose water infrastructure.
According to Dr. Sameh Ahmed Kantoush of Kyoto University, the Magat Dam is silted at about 40 to 50 percent of its capacity.
DENR Region 2 Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan thanked the participants for their commitment urging local officials and communities to practice ecological solid waste management, especially in issues besetting the Magat watershed.
“We only need to integrate our efforts and weave together our interventions to have sound management and governance for sustainable watersheds. Because we believe that if we all together save watersheds, we save lives,” Bambalan said.
Also during the meeting, the DENR Region 2 said the agency will deploy forest protection officers to monitor illegal forest activities within the watershed while the Environmental Management Bureau Region 2 headed by Director Nelson Honrado pledged to regularly conduct water quality monitoring within Magat River and to restrict the use of water with approved C classification.
Earlier, Ramon town Mayor Jesus Laddaran has been calling for a multi-stakeholder meeting to check on and provide solutions to the pressing issues of Magat Dam.
At the convergence meeting, Laddaran thanked the participants and vowed to help the NIA with a municipal ordinance prohibiting settlements within the Magat Dam while regulating the proliferation of fish cages within the watershed. The NIA said it will revisit the collection of fees regulation.
Laddaran said that with most of the fish cages abandoned, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources was requested to assist the fisherfolk with the proper management of cages. The mayor also asked for fishers to be cooperative to ensure compliance with restrictions on the establishment of cages and to enjoin its members to voluntarily remove their houses within the reservoir.
Meanwhile, Rep. Joseph Tan of Isabela fourth congressional district said he will allocate funds to preserve the Magat watershed while the Isabela State University (ISU) proposed the creation of a council to serve as the management body.
The DENR said the ISU-proposed council includes representation from downstream communities and water agencies, while the SN Aboitiz will implement development activities within the Magat tributary through their corporate social responsibility program.
Rep. Allan Ty of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association party-list also recommended the creation of an inter-agency task force to monitor the commitment of stakeholders.
Ty committed to providing additional manpower to the DENR and funding support through the Department of Labor and Employment’s Government Internship Program for the conduct of monitoring and inventory of reforestation projects implemented by the NIA within the watershed.
Citing Letter of Instruction 1002 issued by former president Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1980, the DENR noted that the NIA was authorized to manage, protect, develop and rehabilitate the 15,000-hectare watershed area where Magat Dam is located, administered by the NIA Magat River Integrated Irrigation System.
Carolyn Annang-Tumamao, DENR Region 2 information officer, explained that the old memorandum of agreement between the Bureau of Forest Development (now DENR) and the NIA crafted in 1980 will be revisited and amended.
Annang-Tumamao said this will be done to incorporate the stakeholders’ roles and mandates to ensure holistic partnership for the sustainability of the reservoir and protection of the watershed.
The meeting was also joined by Mines and Geosciences Bureau Region 2 Director Mario Ancheta, Office of Civil Defense Regional Director Leon Rafael Jr., Department of the Interior and Local Government Regional Director Jonathan Paul Leusen, NIA Department Manager Michael Dimoloy, National Economic and Development Authority Assistant Regional Director Ferdinand Tumaliuan, Dr. Orlando Balderama of ISU, and other officials of government and private sectors.