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NegOcc taps over 8K upland residents to protect environment

By Erwin Nicavera

August 5, 2021, 7:48 pm

BACOLOD CITY – The Negros Occidental provincial government has tapped members of upland people’s organizations (POs) across the province to become frontliners in the protection and conservation of the environment.

As of Thursday, data showed there are 69 POs composed of at least 8,300 members, who are all are holders of the certificate of stewardship contract (CSC) under the government’s Integrated Social Forestry (ISF) program.

In a statement, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said when the ISF initiative was devolved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the local government in 1993, the province committed to the task of rehabilitating and protecting the environment by providing developmental projects to all 69 ISF sites.

“Our task has now escalated to reversing the trend of distraction that has been prevalent for years. Socio-economic development can never be viable if the state of the environment continues to decline,” he added.

Lawyer Julie Ann Bedrio, executive assistant for the Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO) Affairs, said that it is the provincial government’s role to capacitate upland farmers.

“We are also empowering them as partners of the province in environment protection and conservation,” she said, adding that there is a need to further involve upland communities as they are the frontliners in the protection of the forest covers and forest lands in Negros Occidental.

The provincial government assists Negrenses in forest areas in growing their crops as well as in making them aware of their rights and responsibilities as CSC holders and enabling them to interact with the people and improve their organizations.

Bedrio said efforts towards addressing environmental degradation in the province have to continue despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

“Though we are facing a health crisis, our responsibility to protect our natural resources stays. Environmental catastrophes like the recent floods in the province and the Covid-19 pandemic are all inter-related. It is our inter-generational responsibility to protect our environment,” she added. (PNA)



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