SC writ prompts closer DENR look at Taal Lake

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is reviewing management plans for Taal Lake after the Supreme Court issued a writ of kalikasan to protect the area from further damage.

In an order issued nearly a month ago, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje directed Reynulfo Juan, head of the Protected Areas Management Board of the Taal Volcano Protected Landscape, to convene the board and take action on the writ.

Paje said one of the issues that needed discussion was the removal of illegal fish cages and other structures blocking the flow of water in the lake. Paje said the board also has to check damage wrought by pollutant establishments near rivers that drain into the lake.

Land-based activities that contribute to pollution of the rivers surrounding the protected area, and which dirty the waters of Taal Lake, would also have to be studied, he added.

The Supreme Court earlier directed environment officials to refrain from issuing permits for fish cage operations in the lake, but Paje said it is not the department that issues such permits, but local government units.

Still, he said the DENR welcomed the writ.

The writ, Paje said, “fully supports the intention of the government to improve the environmental quality of our rivers, lakes and other waterways.”