The team inspects the plantation along the riverbank of the Saug River, a project site in Monkayo.
Rene Freytag and Justine Beatrice Apolinario from the project Transformative Actions for Climate and Ecological Protection and Development (TRANSCEND) and Arite Hildebrandt from Zukunft Umwelt Gesellschaft (ZUG) of the German Federal Government went to the Tagum-Libuganon River Basin on April 11, 2023 to inspect two sites of the project Ecosystem-based Adaptation in 2 River Basins.
The E2RB Project, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in partnership with the River Basin Control Office (RBCO) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). E2RB aims to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on vulnerable communities through ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) measures in the Tagum-Libuganon River Basin (TLRB) and Ilog-Hilabangan River Basin (IHRB).
In TLRB, the project works with seven local government units (LGUs), one non-governmental organization, and one academic institution to implement EbA measures comprising conservation, rehabilitation, and sustainable management of ecosystems.
The team visited the Saug River in Barangay Casoon in the municipality of Monkayo. They inspected the Malibago (Hibiscus tiliaceus) and Pangi (Pangium edule) seedlings that had been planted two months prior to stabilize the riverbanks. The municipal foresters informed them of the project’s progress and measures taken to ensure protection of the vulnerable seedlings. The reforestation component of the project seeks to rehabilitate and protect the degraded Saug watershed to safeguard the local communities from the risks of flooding and erosion.
The team also met with Chamberlain J. Babiera, the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (PENRO) of Davao del Norte. A 96.8-hectare mangrove forest in the municipality of Carmen is being proposed for protection and rehabilitation under the project in order to restore the ecological health of the Carmen Wetlands, an important habitat for migratory birds. (E2RB/ Georg Ruthenberg)
