The Provincial Board is supporting the campaign of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources against the illegal cutting of trees at the Osmeña Reforestation Area in Minglanilla town.
The Osmeña Reforestation Project is the oldest reforestation project in the country.
In a resolution, the PB stated that reports of poaching and the illegal cutting of trees have reached to an alarming level, prompting the DENR to take measures against such destructive activities.
Among the measures is the creation of a five-man team to safeguard the reforestation project from poachers and illegal loggers who are making charcoal out of old trees within the site.
Meanwhile, PB passed another resolution supporting the advocacy of DENR for the relocation of illegal settlers in the protected watersheds of the province.
The watersheds of the province, the PB said, are currently occupied by an alarming number of illegal mountain settlers and professional squatters.
Since they are the primary threats of the watersheds and the local wildlife, the DENR is making moves for the relocation of these illegal settlers.
“The occupancy of our watersheds poses risk to the health and safety of the people of our province as these watersheds are sources of potable water,” the resolution reads.
It added that among other threats to the watershed are the poaching and cutting of small trees for firewood or charcoal.
The PB recommended that there should be no tenants in critical watersheds like those in Central Cebu. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/LPM