The Davao City’s Watershed Management Council conducted another Information Education and Communication (IEC) activity in Barangay Tawan-Tawan, Baguio District on May 10.
The WMC’s IEC drive is aimed at the protection of the city’s water supply system by educating stakeholders on the Watershed Code and other sustainability efforts enforced by the local and national government.
Significant portion of Barangay Tawan-Tawan falls under critical conservation as the area hosts part of the Panigan-
Tamugan Watershed. The rest of its territory is mainly classified as Agricultural Zone.
The IEC team of the WMC, which is composed of members from the City Administrator’s Office, City Legal Office, Department of Natural Resources (DENR), City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and the Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS), gave a series of lectures to Tawan-Tawan’s barangay functionaries, Bantay Bukid Volunteers, leaders of local indigenous groups, and its residents.
Bantay Bukid Volunteers engaged in a discussion of policy enforcement and apprehension methods for violators of the Watershed Code.
Barangay functionaries, meanwhile, deliberated on the duties and functions of the Barangay Watershed Management Council with regard to the implementation of zoning regulations in the area. Barangay officials were explicitly warned against allowing property developers within the area.
Tawan-Tawan Barangay Captain Ricardo Gierran said most of his constituents are already highly aware of the critical role Tawan-Tawan and the Tamugan River play in the city’s water supply system.
“Naa na pud na sila’y knowledge sa mga do’s and don’t’s sa watershed kay kami sa barangay nagakampanya man gyud mi na dili binuangan ang kinaiyahan (They are already knowledgeabke to the do’s and don’t’s of the watershed code because us in the barangay regularly campaign for the protection of our natural resources),” said Gierran.
“Labi na sa sapa na dapat proteksiyonan kay mao ra intawn na ang isa sa pinakalimpyo na sapa sa Davao City na karon ginagamit sa downtown,” he added.
This is why, the barangay captain said, residents of Tawan-Tawan are highly receptive to all sustainability efforts and programs spearheaded by the local and national agencies as well as environment conservation groups.
The WMC‘s IEC Team targets to reach at least six critical watershed areas in the city for its IEC campaign for this year. CIO
