BAGUIO CITY (PIA) — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Cordillera Administrative Region lauds the establishment of Water Resources Management Office (WRMO) citing its importance to the region as the “watershed cradle of the North.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed in August last year Executive Order 22 creating the WRMO to consolidate the programs and projects of the different agencies involved in water and sanitation into the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) plan, and to ensure its implementation. It will also generate a credible water and sanitation data to help in policy making and planning.
DENR-CAR Regional Executive Director Paquito Moreno during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas media forum here on Tuesday (July 16), said this integrated approach among government agencies will significantly enhance access to water for public health, agriculture, industry, and economic development.
The establishment of WRMO at the DENR Central Office marks the first time in Philippines that the water resource sector is consolidated.
“This region is crucial as it provides headwaters for 13 major river systems, which are sources of domestic water supply, irrigation, ecotourism, livelihoods, biodiversity habitats, and nine hydropower plants,” Moreno said.
DENR has inventoried around 258 water sources in the region with an estimated volumetric flow rate of 487 liter per second from the year 2022 to June 2024, he added.
About 88 percent of the water from the Cordillera is used for irrigation in the region and in Regions 1 and 2. Moreno also reported that the DENR-Environment Management Bureau is continuously monitoring water quality of the 422 water pollutive firms, three Water Quality Management Area, two priority water bodies that support the national irrigation system, and nine “Adopt an Estero” water bodies projects.
The DENR-CAR continues to enhance partnership with other agencies forging a memorandum of agreement with the National Water Resources Board and the City Government of Baguio on the conduct of inventory, identification and monitoring of water sources and users.
It also entered a MOA with Camp John Hay and Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau on the development of run-off water harvesting technology in Camp John Hay Catchment Areas Phase 1.
Meanwhile, the DENR-CAR reported that intensified efforts for the preservation and expansion of forest covers in the Cordillera resulted to 10 percent increase in forest reserve and watershed areas from year 2022 to 2023, and in job generation.
“As of 2023, a significant 130,187 hectares in the region have been dedicated to reforestation efforts, planting various commodities to revitalize barren areas and expand open forests. Over a 13-year period, the program has successfully generated 916,132 jobs, thereby achieving its goal of reducing poverty in upland communities,” Moreno shared.
Joining Moreno as panelists in the forum were DENR Mines and Geo-science Bureau Regional Director Faye Apil and Mines and EMB OIC Regional Director Jean Borromeo. (CCD-PIA CAR)
