In a bid to pave the way for the realization of a provincial environment summit in Ilocos Norte, a steering committee for the said event had been formed on May 3 at the Provincial Capitol. The committee is tasked to come up with a detailed series of activities, providing an initial database of information to usher the creation of a new environment code geared towards the protection of natural resources in the province. Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) member Mariano V. Marcos II, chair of the provincial board’s committee on environment and natural resources, made this announcement as he said this would give a clearer picture of what will be done to protect and conserve the environment which now faces the dangers of illegal fishing, illegal logging and smuggling of logs, smuggling of natural resources including endangered flora and fauna species, as well as the slash-and-burn farming of some farmers in the uplands. Alarmed by the rapid degradation of the province’s natural resources, the SP has initiated a move to enact a provincial environment code which resulted in the holding of a summit to assess the extent of damages to Ilocos Norte’s environment and to implement preventive measures for its conservation and maintenance. According to Marcos II, this project would entail a long series of activities and the steering committee is preparing for at least four months, or until September, for the summit. The steering committee would be headed by Ilocos Norte Governor Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and would be composed of the SP’s environment committee chair, the department heads of the Provincial Environment Office (PENRO), Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), and representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the clergy, the media, chief prosecutors of Laoag City and Ilocos Norte, the president of Integrated Bar of the Philippines, non-government organizations, members of the academe, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the mayors’ league. With the creation of the steering committee, Marcos II said a technical working group will divided to form sub-committees which would be in charge of the conservation of land, mineral, marine, marine, forest and other resources. “Our environment code is not generic. It is very precise. Sa environment code natin, kailangan sabihin natin kung sang bundok dito sa probinsya ang kailangan na ng intervention, kung ano ang parte ng ating shoreline ang kailangan na ng intervention… so very specific tayo kung ano talaga ang dapat gagawin (In our environment code, it should be specified which mountains or shoreline need intervention in our province… we should be specific on what we should do),” Marcos II said. The initiation of an environment summit in the province has been patterned after the successful implementation of the environment code of Bohol province, which is now becoming more progressive due to its eco-tourism industry. Leilanie G. Adriano
|
|