Mayon Volcano. Apple Buemia Llorando/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Environment Secretary Ramon Paje has placed on high alert all forest and fire protection officers in Albay, to the wildfires that Mayon Volcano’s eruption could cause.
In a statement, Paje emphasized the serious danger that a volcanic eruption and wildfire would pose to people and natural ecosystems.
According to the DENR secretary, “We have to be ready for potential wildfires, including whatever intervention may be needed to protect natural ecosystems that are highly vulnerable to catastrophic damage the volcanic explosion may cause.”
Paje directed the DENR Bicol region executive director to ensure the readiness of the Regional Forest Fire Respondent Teams (RFFRTs) for deployment so they could easily respond to any calamity.
The RFFRTs are made up of highly trained special units called “Leatherbacks” from the DENR field offices, Bureau of Fire Protection and other volunteer groups who are tasked to conduct round-the-clock monitoring of, and quickly respond to wildfires.
The DENR is developing thematic maps, which include trails, access roads, water source locations, and forest ranger stations, and profiling timberlands and protected areas in the Bicol Region to serve as guides for the teams.
Likewise, the DENR secretary said that community-based forest management projects in Albay would be tapped to set up fire and green breaks.
He said, “Stakeholders such as forest-based communities are better able to deal immediately with fire emergencies. Their services will help us respond quickly when fire breaks out in remote places,” adding that the agency has given them fire management training.
Paje also reminded Albay forestry officials to protect seedlings intended for planting at the foot of the volcano under the National Greening Program (NGP). The seedlings are for sowing within the 76,770-hectare Quinale watershed, which traverses the base of the volcano and includes some areas within the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone.
He stressed that the watershed is an NGP priority in Albay because of its use in irrigation as well as for the prevention of floods in Ligao City and the municipalities of Oas, Polangui, and Libon.
There are at least 81 NGP sites in Albay covering 5,269 hectares of forest maintained by the agency, civil society groups and host communities in Legazpi, Tabaco and Ligao Cities, as well as in the towns of Camalig, Daraga, Guinobatan, and Sto. Domingo.
The program aims to plant by 2016 some 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares of forests, mangroves and protected areas, ancestral domains, civil and military reservations, and urban areas.
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