Water district promotes fruit tree planting in Catbalogan watershed

CATBALOGAN CITY —The water district here is bent in promoting the planting of fruit trees in the Catbalogan Watershed where the source of water is located.
 
In an interview with Tante Panela, information officer of the Catbalogan Water District, said that they have already planted pili trees and jackfruit (langka).

 “Even the Catbalogan Bankers Association members will be tree-planting this May,” added Panela who took pride in mentioning that they have attracted students, city hall employees and the barangay folks into planting trees in the watershed.

 She added that presently, they have planted 6,000 pili trees  near Masak Pasak Falls where the water source of the district is located.

 When asked why fruit trees, she replied that they want the barangay folks who are secretly producing charcoal through cutting the trees they have planted to instead just harvest the fruits and leave the trees around.

 “We have always planted trees in the water source almost three times a year for 34 years now, but it seems that our trees are being cut everyday,” she lamented.

 She said that they have coordinated with the barangay officials, media through radio broadcasts to ask the dwellers near the watershed to leave the trees alone.

 “Planting trees helps to reduce environmental destruction -stop erosion through the retention of topsoil, harvesting of rainwater, and helps communities build their resilience to climate change,” she said.

 She appealed to the Catbaloganons living near the Catbalogan Watershed to find other livelihood instead of timber poaching, which she said is very rampant, along with making charcoal.

 “If we destroy the forest, the rivers and other water sources will dry up, the crops will fail and we may die of hunger,” she appealed to them on radio.

 There are only two forest guards that they employ and that the number may not be enough with the vast hectares of forest cover they guard.

 She just appealed to them, “We are poor, yet we can contribute to mitigating climate change by leaving the trees where they are.” (NINFA B. QUIRANTE)

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Posted by lsde on May 5 2012. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.