BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya (PIA) – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has forged an agreement with five local government units in Nueva Vizcaya to strengthen the protection and management of the Sta. Fe River.
DENR Regional Director Gwendolyn Bambalan said the Memorandum of Agreement which was recently signed with the municipal mayors of Santa Fe, Aritao, Dupax Del Sur, Dupax Del Norte, and Bambang towns will further push for the protection, conservation, and management of the Santa Fe River in the province.
“This agreement formalizes our concerted action by tapping the help of our concerned LGUs to protect the rivers and other riverbanks from degradation and pollution,” she said.
The agreement will put DENR on the frontline of Information, Education, and Communication efforts and activities, cleanup drives, collection of water samples, and monitoring of cleanliness and implementation of related environmental laws within the Santa Fe River.
The LGUs on the other hand will provide assistance to improve the water quality of their respective rivers and extend collaborative efforts in the conduct of regular patrolling and monitoring of activities within their rivers.
PENR Officer Giovannie Magat praised the support and assistance of the top LGU officials as partners of the DENR on river conservation and protection.
He said Nueva Vizcaya province, as the headwater of the Cagayan Valley region, can have an impact on activities happening upstream to the lowland areas.
The agreement was signed by Aritao Mayor Remelina Peros-Galam, Dupax del Norte Mayor Timothy Joseph Cayton, Dupax del Sur Mayor Neil Magaway, Bambang Mayor Benjamin Cuaresma III, and Sta. Fe Mayor Liwayway Caramat. (OTB/BME/PIA NVizcaya)
