DENR inks MOA with DPWH, BALAOD Mindanaw, Dinagat
Islands LGUs for typhoon Yolanda victims
By Maria Catherine M. Gonzaga
BUTUAN CITY, Feb. 15 (PIA) - The Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has entered into an agreement with the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Balay Alternative Legal
Advocates for Development in Mindanaw, Inc. (BALAOD Mindanaw) and the local
government units (LGUs) of Loreto, Libjo and Tubajon in Dinagat Islands on
February 6, 2015 for the implementation of the project “From Patronage to
Empowerment” of typhoon Yolanda victims in that province.
PENR Officer Agapito Patubo said the DENR, under
the agreement, has donated 34.58 cubic meters of logs to the LGU of Tubajon;
34.58 cubic meters of logs to the LGU of Loreto and 966.37 board feet of lumber
to the LGU of Libjo for the construction of houses and other facilities for the
typhoon Yolanda victims who are still confined on temporary shelters within the
danger zone.
Earlier in his remark during the inauguration of
the PENRO building, the DENR undersecretary for Administration and Information
System Atty. Ernesto D. Adobo Jr. expressed his impression about Dinagat
Islands. “This province has a vast potential in ecotourism. We hope it can
achieve the status as the second 'Carbon Balance' in the country similar to
Palawan,” he said.
Carbon balance is calculated through deducting the
carbon uptake by oceans and land systems from the carbon emissions from human
activities. Forests can act as either carbon sources or carbon sinks.
A forest is considered to be a carbon source if it
releases more carbon than it absorbs while it can be considered a carbon sink
if it absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. Carbon is
absorbed from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. The process of carbon
absorption and deposition is known as carbon sequestration. The net balance of
all these carbon exchanges determines whether a forest is a carbon source or
sink.
It can be recalled that typhoon Yolanda hit the
province on November 8, 2013, it displaced about 5,623 families and destroyed
about ₱171 million worth of
properties with 505 houses totally damaged and 3,467 houses partially damaged.
The damages brought by the typhoon have mobilized
the government and non-government organizations to initiate several programs to
alleviate the sufferings of the typhoon victims. According to OIC-PENRO Patubo,
the MOA and Deed of Donation were made to define the contributions and
counterparts of the stakeholders to attain their objectives, particularly on
resettlement and rehabilitation efforts. (DENR-13/PIA Caraga)
