ILOILO CITY (PIA) - - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 6 recently conducted the provincial launching of the “Save our Watershed” (SOW) campaign on watershed conservation.

It was on June 30 this year when DENR held the national launching of SOW campaign in Manila.

DENR VI Regional Executive Director Livino Duran said that water is important to life and survival, adding that the physical appearance of a watershed dictates the ecosystem services it can provide to sustain socio-economic activities.

He said that the protection and conservation of watershed is not just the DENR's mandate and responsibility but also of all stakeholders and further emphasized that “Sapagkat Ikaw, Ako, Tayo ang Kalikasan” during the launch.

With the launch of the campaign, it is believed that the watershed management and governing bodies in the covered areas will be more dynamic and will get a wider scale public support.

It will also help educate the public on the importance of watersheds and forestlands to promote a healthier biodiversity.

The campaign took off from the JICA-assisted Forestland Management Project (FMP), a 10-year watershed rehabilitation project (2012-2022) covering Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Central Luzon (Region 3), and Western Visayas (Region 6) particularly the Jalaur River Basin.

The project aims to strengthen forestland management through collaborative, holistic, comprehensive, and sustainable forestland management strategies.

FMP has benefitted around 22 people's organizations with over 2,000 members covering 13,027 hectares of the watershed in the upland areas of the municipalities of Janiuay, Lambunao, Calinog, all in the Province of Iloilo.

The SOW campaign will provide focus and attention to what matters, like the case of Jalaur River Basin, which supplies water, food and hydropower.

According to DENR 6, the Jalaur River Basin is a source of irrigation, water supply for domestic use in Iloilo City and its adjacent municipalities and also the generation of up to 6.6 megawatts electric power supply. 

DENR ASEC for Policy, Planning, and Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Marcial C. Amaro Jr., said in his message “SOW is a pilot activity for a nationwide program to conserve the watersheds in our country” as he emphasized the importance of watersheds because it saves lives.

To further strengthen their participation and commitment, participants signed their names on the “Wall of Commitment” as a symbol that they are indeed sincere enough to sustain their efforts toward healthier watersheds.

Saving the country’s watershed is one of the 10 priority projects of Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu. (DENR6/laf/PIA6-Iloilo)