Nature can still heal itself, if we give it the urgent attention it needs. The above phrase was emblazened at the top of a UN Environment Programme special report issued on August 8, 2019 which unveiled how climate change, land management and global food security interact with each other.
Here in Angeles City, various partnerships are being unveiled to deal with climate change issues.
Apart from previous agreements with other multiple organizations, today the Abacan River and Angeles Watershed Advocacy Council Inc. (ARAW-ACI) and the Kapatirang Aetas ng Angeles-Porac para sa Kalikasan at Agrikultura (KAAPKA) have entered into another strategic partnership with Balibago Waterworks System Inc. to rehabilitate and nourish the 527-hectare watershed which is geographically located in Bgy. Sapangbato, Angeles City.
ARAW-ACI is a non-profit group that promotes water security and watershed conservation. It is the implementor of the adopt-a-watershed reforestation program in the said area.
Further, the reforestation program is crucial to populate and improve forest health in the watershed, support flood control, for better rainfall collection and conservation of the city’s water supply and the Metro Clark area.
Our national development goals are at risk unless other local government units (LGUs) build their resilience to the impacts of climate change through the restoration of watershed areas which have been degraded over time.
There are several activities and interventions that lead to the degradation of watersheds — illegal land clearing, settlement expansion and associated improper waste disposal, and forest fires are the major contributors to the degradation of our watersheds.
The watershed is a former military reservation land administered by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) as provided for under Republic Act 7227 or the Bases Conversion and Development Act.
With the newly-forged partnership it would reinvigorate efforts to reforest watersheds within the Pampanga River Basin, which would ensure sustainable water supply not only in the province but in other areas in Central Luzon.
Reforestation can be equated to people investing in the future. We need to protect watersheds, as they provide us potable and quality water supply. Planting and growing trees could also downscale the looming threats of the global climate crisis, explained by the Departmenr of Environment and Natural Resources.
In Central Luzon, there are nine critical watersheds and 146 watershed forest reserves that supply water to over 26 million residents of Central Luzon and Metro Manila.
Under the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) among these three organizations, the BWSI acts as the project sponsor, who will fund the project and will be in charge of supplying seedlings and fertilizer, as well as its sustainable water supply. KAAPKA will look after the day-to-day upkeep of the area as livelihood component, while the ARAW- ACI will oversee the implementation of the project and coordinate with the Angeles City LGU.
The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was supported by Congresswoman Carmelo Jon Lazatin II, while Mayor Carmelo Pogi Lazatin Jr., Vice Mayor Vicky Vega Cabigting and Archie Lazatin, CENRO-Angeles City witnessed the signing between BWSI President Cristina Isabelle Alejandro for 10 hectares with 10,000 trees for the next five years, ARAW-ACI President Renato Tayag, Jr., and KAAPKA President Fred Pan assisted by ARAW ACI Executive Director Minerva Zamora-Arceo.
Related to this development, it can be recalled the Angeles City LGU has spearheaded a tree planting activity in the watershed kicking off Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr.’s campaign for the city’s environment preservation. Dubbed as “Bayanihan sa Tubig-Kanlungan,” the said activity is a rehabilitation project in partnership with the ARAW-ACI.
In his welcome message Mayor Lazatin said, “We will stay committed to our promise of pushing programs for the protection and preservation of our environment. Para ito sa mga anak natin at sa mga susunod pang henerasyon,” he added. Some 1,000 seedlings of narra, molave, dau, poay, and assorted fruit-bearing trees were provided by the city government which snowballed to a total of 59,000 trees as of this date. Chapter President Arnel San Pedro of Central Luzon Media Association (CLMA)-Pampanga has also committed to enter into a MOA to initially reforest a hectare of land with assorted seedlings and fruit bearing trees.
The security of the environment and human lives are interdependent on watersheds. It gives us access to clean water and safeguards the survival and habitats of all living things from the land to the sea. Currently, the Philippines has over 130 critical watersheds that demand urgent protection and rehabilitation.