DENR ready to help inventory city caves

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources yesterday claimed that it had already inventoried most of the caves in Cebu City.

The environment office also expressed its willingness to partner with the Cebu City government or any local government unit to inventory caves because these would help in their preservation.

DENR-7 spokesman Eddie Llamedo said the LGU needed to send a letter request to the Protected Wildlife Coastal Zone Management (PWCZM) bureau of the DENR for their request for an inventory of caves from the agency.

He said the Protected Management bureau was in charge of any activity under the protected areas including caves.

A composite team lead by the Protected Management bureau and made up of representatives from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and the Environmental Management Bureau would also compose the team.

He said that they were considering employing the barangay environment officers to help preserve the caves.

Among the activities included on the inventory are the audit of mineral components in the area, check for any signs of illegal quarrying,

After their inventory, Llamedo said they could also provide technical assistance to the LGU by providing capacity building and trainings of environment officers in-charge of looking after the caves./Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya