TACLOBAN CITY- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional office here is set to rehabilitate 11 watersheds that have been identified by environment authorities as already in critical state.
Ricardo Tomol, forest protection resource management division chief of DENR-8, told Leyte Samar Daily Express in an interview recently that, for some reasons, all the watersheds delineated for rehabilitation are located in the province of Leyte.
He said all these watersheds are also those supporting the National Irrigation System (NIS) of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which means there are existing irrigation projects and activities in these areas.
“But we are still waiting for the funding allocation from the central office before we could actually start the rehabilitation project for the delineated critical watersheds,” Tomol said.
Among the activities the DENR is planning to conduct in these particular areas are reforestation and replanting of trees that in a way would regain the forest cover of the areas involved.
The following are the watersheds subject for rehabilitation by the DENR: Magon-bucan River watershed covering the municipalities of La Paz, Mac-Arthur; Bao river watershed in Ormoc City, Kananga, Capoocan and Carigara; Binahaan river watershed covering Ormoc City, Jaro, Pastrana and Dagami; Bito river watershed in Abuyog and Baybay, Leyte; Daguitan river watershed covering the towns of Burauen, Albuera, and Dagami; Guinarona river watershed in Dagami and Burauen; Mainit river watershed in Carigara, Jaro, and Alang-Alang; Pongso river watershed covering Carigara, Barugo, Tunga and Ormoc City; Palo river watershed covering Palo, Jaro, Sta. Fe, Alang-Alang and even Tacloban City; and the Salug river watershed in Hindang, Hilongos and Inopcana towns in the province of Leyte.
Tomol said they have already conducted recently the characterization of each watershed to determine how thick is the vegetative cover of the surrounding forests and which areas to reforest and whether there is a need for relocation of the existing nearby occupants.
He said most of these watersheds subject for reforestation have open mountains or that which have no vegetation already caused by certain illegal activities.
“We are planning to reforest at least 100 hectares for each watershed under this project,” Tomol said.
He said this undertaking is aimed to lessen, if not totally prevent, incidents of soil erosion and siltation in our rivers.
Of the 11 watersheds up for rehabilitation this year, Guinarona river watershed appears to be the smallest with only 1,400 hectares of watershed area while Bito river watershed accounts the biggest watershed area with 11,360 hectares.
In the reforestation and replanting project they will undertake this year, Tomol said they would prioritize the propagation of fruit trees as it is both advantageous to the environment as well as to the economic status of the occupants living near the said river watersheds.
