Kapatagan, Lanao del Sur --- The Mindanao Rural Development Program’s greening activities are on the roll launching another multimillion environment projects in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Covering the upland down to its coastal areas, the natural resources management (NRM) component of MRDP in coordination with the local government unit (LGU) here launched recently over P6.4 million worth of projects.
The funding is intended for the establishment of a central nursery which will make planting materials for agro-reforestation activities ready and accessible for the communities. This project allotted over P650 thousand will benefit 15 barangays.
The upland community folk will rehabilitate its forests by implementing a150-hectare agro-reforestation project amounting P3.8 million.
While, the Budas river bank stabilization project allotted P628 thousand will directly benefit three lowland baragays which have been prone to flooding and soil erosion in recent years.
In the coastal areas, a 20-hectare mangrove rehabilitation amounting close to P600 thousand will be conducted. An MRDP study in coordination with the LGU showed that their coastal areas rear at least nine species of mangroves which needs to be protected.
Also, a 30-heactare fish sanctuary will be put up to regenerate the seafood production in the area. The establishment of the sanctuary is earmarked P679 thousand.
Kapatagan is the second town to have launched its environmental protection and conservation projects among the six covered sites of the NRM year-two implementation. Year-one projects of NRM covering another six towns spent P42 million.
“Our aim is to make our natural resources sustainable,” said program director Lealyn A. Ramos.
Ramos said NRM is purposely implementing projects in the upland, the lowland and the coastal areas as activities in the upland have downstream impact to the coastal areas.
“Aside from cushioning the communities from the impacts of climate change, this interconnectivity has to be maintained ‘as green as possible’ in order to fully support regeneration of our natural resources, the source of food and most livelihoods in rural areas,” she added.
As the projects are rolled out, community empowerment is also promoted as MRDP is using a community-driven development (CDD) approach.
“With the bottom-up approach through CDD, peoples’ organization members will be empowered to procure, implement and manage the projects entrusted to them,” Ramos said.
MRDP, a poverty-alleviation program of the Department of Agriculture jointly funded by the World Bank, and the national and local governments, also implements livelihood projects, infrastructure development and assists LGUs in implementing governance reforms.
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