Events: NNNP and Taal Protected Landscape Ink Twinning Pact
The Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP) and the Taal Volcano Protected Landscape (TVPL), both national protected areas are now bonded through a twinning agreement.
Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo G. Marañon, Jr. led the NNNP delegation to Batangas City to attend the General Assembly of the TVPL recently and the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the twinning of the NNNP and the TVPL at Balay Isabel, Talisay City in Batangas.
The twinning agreement is meant to enhance impacts including knowledge sharing on best practices, cooperation and partnership and mentoring between parties.
Representing the TVPL were the Regional Executive Director of DENR Region 4A Reynulfo Juan, the Regional Technical Director of DENR 4A Arnulfo Hernandez, as well as the Protective Area Superintendent (PASu) of TVPL, Batangas City CENRO Laudemir Salac.
Aside from them, the other signatories to the MOA were Regional Executive Director of DENR Region 6, Julian Amador, with PEM Officer Atty. Aleta C. Nuñez and other officers as witnesses in behalf of NNNP.
Under the co-management agreement between them, the chairmanship of the NNNP-PAMB is shared by the DENR-RED Region 6 and the Provincial Governor of Negros Occidental.
While the province of Batangas, with Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto at the helm, is very active in the pursuit of the objectives of TVPL.
She was represented during the activity by her Provincial Administrator, Victor Reyes.
National Protected Areas are established under Republic Act 7586 (the National Integrated Protected Areas Systems Act).
The NNNP and TVPL, composed of several LGUs, are important protected natural parks which have tremendous economic, social and ecological values to abutting LGUs.
Twinning activities for protected areas (PAs) are designed to pursue the ends of sustainable management of natural resources found in these ecologically sensitive areas and how each can help the other.
According to Atty. Aleta Nuñez, Negros Occidental Provincial Environment Management Officer (PEMO), the trip doubled as a learning visit, as one of the issues of interest to NNNP in TVPL is the manner the Protected Area Management Board was able to conduct law enforcement, particularly with how they dismantled the more than 7,000 fish pens, in Taal Lake.
"It would be interesting to learn from their experience on this matter and how we can tailor-fit these learnings to our PAs," Nuñez added.
The Twinning activity was under the 2-year European Union-funded Effective Natural Resources Governance (ENRG) Project implemented by the Province thru the PEMO.*(EAD/JCM/-PIA6/PEMO Negros Occidental)
