BAGUIO CITY — The national government has earmarked at least P600 million for various interventions that would preserve and protect to region’s deteriorating watersheds and forests for the benefit of the future generation of Filipinos and the country’s agriculture and energy sectors.

This was bared by Environment Secretary Joselito Atienza Jr. during a recent briefing with city and barangay officials relative to the worsening effects of climate change in the different parts of the country.

Out of the said amount, P250 million was allocated for the upland development program (UDP) while over P350 million will be used to hire 11,837 forest guards under the Arroyo administration’s Bantay Gubat program.

Atienza explained the UDP aims to tap poor families in the watershed and forest communities to reforest and maintain at least one hectare of watershed in their respective areas while the Bantay Gubat program seeks to hire forest guards to protect the remaining forest cover from invasion by unscrupulous individuals.

In the Cordillera alone, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has identified 7,733 hectares of critical forests to be reforested by 7,733 families for this year alone.

Atienza claimed there are funds allocated for all the environment preservation and protection projects of the Arroyo administration but the agency is encountering some problems in the releasing of the funds this time, thus, there is a slight delay in the implementation of the projects to comply with the prescribed deadline set by the President.