WATERSHED NEWS: RAINFORESTATION FARMING TECHNOLOGY TRAINING
The concept of Rainforestation farming has been promoted as a strategy to rehabilitate degraded lands in order to restore the tropical rainforests. This concept is being implemented by IDIS and community partners in the rehabilitation of Panigan-Tamugan Watershed since 2012 when the UCARE project was implemented with funding support from the Foundation for the Philippine Environment. Rainforestation. This was also adopted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as a national strategy to order the integration of rainforestation farming strategy in the development of open areas and denuded forests to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in protected areas and other appropriate forest lands. (Asio, 2019) To update the knowledge of Bantay Bukid volunteers on this technology and check their actual implementation, the Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) conducted a training last July 31, 2020 at Purok Sumpitan, Barangay Tawantawan, Davao City. Following the Local Government Unit’s guidelines against COVID-19, the Bantay Bukid volunteers convened together with IDIS staff and shared various experiences relating to previous and present rainforestation projects and how it impacted their lives and the environmental situation in the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed and Mt. Tipolog. Bantay Bukid volunteers also learned essential techniques on bamboo propagation and production from Mr. Mark “Sultan” Gersava, Founder and Chief Executive Farmer of Bambuhay. The training was centered in the rainforestation with the integration of bamboo production in which Mr. Gersava demonstrated to the participants how to properly grow a bamboo tree. He also explained the advantages of growing bamboos in rainforests especially in mitigating the impact of soil erosion and effective carbon sequestration. He also emphasized that bamboo grows easily and can be developed into various eco-friendly products that can help prevent plastic pollution and deforestation. The training also served as an avenue for the Bantay Bukid volunteers to convey their problems and challenges while patrolling. Each cluster leader also reported some development on their areas such as the additional species of animals on the forest and fishes on the river that they observed. At the end of the activity, IDIS turned over to the volunteers the backpacks that the Davao City Water District donated. A total of seventy-one backpacks were distributed which they can use on their daily patrols. Moreover, three smartphones were also given to three chosen volunteers. The phones were already installed with different applications that can be used during their monitoring. Those phones were donated by one of the Adopt-a-Riverbank Program adapters, Ms. Jennifer Vicente. Bantay Bukid volunteers are continuously supported by IDIS with partners – Davao City LGU, Foundation for the Philippine Environment, DKA Austria and Misereor Germany.
WATERSHED NEWS: BANTAY BUKID VOLUNTEERS RECEIVES SEWING MACHINES FROM FUNDERS
Amidst the pandemic we are facing today, the Bantay Bukid volunteers are still committed to protect and rehabilitate the conservation areas of Panigan-Tamugan Watershed. The volunteers strictly follow the guidelines of the “new normal” implemented by the barangay local government units where they are located to prevent the spread of the virus. Bantay Bukid continues to fulfil their functions such as watershed monitoring, river monitoring, establishment and maintenance of nurseries, and planting and re-planting in the rainforestation sites. They grouped themselves by cluster and scheduled alternately their activities to follow social distancing and required their members to wear face mask. However, upon checking with the Bantay Bukid volunteers, they raised their concern of not having adequate supply of clean face masks. To assist them with this, IDIS turned-over three sewing machines, cloth, and sewing tools to help them produce reusable face masks for them and their family members to use. This project also aimed at providing livelihood project to the Bantay Bukid once they are able to produce more face masks that can be sold to other community members and other watershed stakeholders at an affordable price. The purchase of equipment is under the community project funded by DKA and Misereor. In addition, the Davao City Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Office also gave five (5) sets of PPE’s to the volunteers such as clothing, aprons, googles, and disposable gloves to the Bantay Bukid volunteers who continue to assist their BLGUs in attending to actual cases of persons under monitoring (PUMs) in their barangays. IDIS also made sure that the volunteers continue to receive their monthly allowances from the city government during the lockdown period as well as benefits from other agencies implementing the Social Amelioration Program, 4Ps, IPs, and Senior Citizens financial assistance. With these, the volunteers continue to contribute in the local response to COVID-19 pandemic as well as in the protection, rehabilitation, and maintenance of the conservation areas without compromising their health.
GIVE TO NATURE – Adopt a Tree, Support a BantayBukid
Panigan-Tamugan Watershed, our next source of drinking water in Davao City, is feeling the effects of climate change with extreme heat and intense rainfall resulting in mature trees cut down, soil erosion in riverbanks and dried up creeks. We rely on our BantayBukid volunteers to conduct continuous reforestation efforts to maintain the health of our watersheds so we get continuous water supply. They do this by maintaining nurseries of native species, planting trees regularly, replacing seedling mortality and conducting weeding to help seedlings grow to full maturity.