Monitoring of watersheds urged

Mobilizing groups to monitor and help preserve the conditions of Cebu’s watersheds will help mitigate the province’s flooding problems, a watershed management coalition said yesterday.

“We cannot reverse the impact of climate change, so the only thing we can do is adapt,” said Jessica Salas, president of the Philippine Watershed Management Coalition. In an interview, Salas said watershed groups will identify the watersheds in all the areas in Cebu.

Salas is one of the speakers who attended the 33rd Philippine Association of Water Districts (PAWD) at the Radisson Blu Hotel yesterday.

“Everyone lives inside the watershed. Water do not just come from the forest. It comes from the hills and residential areas as well,” Salas said.

Salas said the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD) can partner with business, local government units and non-government organizations to form a watershed group that will identify landslide- and flood-prone areas in Cebu.Correspondent Rhea Ruth V. Rosell