BY: HAZEL F. GLORIA
CEBU CITY, March 14 (PIA) --- The
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) here has stepped its
efforts in preventing a forest or bush fire as a result of the coming ‘dry’
months by organizing local community fire brigades.
DENR-7 regional executive irector Dr.
Isabelo R. Montejo said, DENR has constituted a fire brigade in
the national greening program (NGP) plantations particularly on critical
or hotspots areas under the administrative jurisdiction of community
environment and natural offices (CENROs).
These are the areas with large greening
program and ‘old’ growth plantations that include Argao and Oslob in Cebu;
Ubay, Buenavista, Getafe, Pilar, and Talibon, in Bohol; Ayungon and Bindoy in
Negros Oriental.
“It is more practical and sensible to
prevent forest fire rather than controlling them through regular monitoring and
intensive and aggressive information, education and communication efforts,”
Montejo added.
Aside from these, he also pushed to set
up firelines, a 10-meter wide vegetation-free strips that are usually
established at the borders of the plantation and at given intervals inside the
plantation to contain fire if it breaks out.
“We poured in a lot of funds to maintain
and grow these plantations and it would be a sad situation when our
reforestation initiatives will turn into ashes,” he said.
He explained the carelessness and
irresponsible activities of humans that may cause a fire to break out include
thrown lighted cigarette butt, a campfire with still live cinder or charcoal
left by hunters or campers, and a pasture land burned to improve live-stock
grazing.
In a campaign to prevent bush or forest fire,
he said the role of people’s active participation by organizing and mobilizing
the members of the community to serve as volunteers at a barangay, sitio or
purok level is very important.
Montejo said that grasses and other
vegetation dry up and become very flammable during summer or dry months. He suggested that these dried litters should be collected and
removed from the site as they are potential source of fire.
“I have instructed all our provincial environment and natural
resources officers and CENR officers to continuously monitor and conduct
regular patrol in all protected areas and plantations in the region so that we
would be able to prevent the occurrence of forest or bush fire,” he
concluded.(mbcn/HFG/PIA-7/DENR-7)