Water Systems In Cebu’s Protected Areas Slowly Drying Up – Penro

The water systems within the Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL) are slowly drying up with the early onset of the dry season, the Cebu Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) reported.

Only 60 percent of the usual water supply now flows from the rivers and streams in upland areas in Metro Cebu, said Penro Technical Division Chief Fedencio Carreon.

Carreon said the dwindling water supply is no longer enough for the communities within the watershed area, that is why they are relying on the local government units (LGUs) to deliver water to the upland areas.

Carreon said the dry season set in earlier than usual this year due to El Niño.

”There will still be water but it won’t be enough,” he said.

Among the water systems being monitored by Penro are the Mananga River, Cotcot River and the Lusaran River.

He said the Cebu City Government’s pronouncement that it will send water tanks to the mountain villages within the CCPL will be a big help, especially to farmers who need to water their farms during the dry spell.

At least 60 percent of the 28,300-hectare watershed area that makes up the CCPL is in Cebu City.

The Penro, which is tasked to oversee the protection and management of the CCPL, urged the communities, LGUs and law enforcement agencies to work together to protect the CCPL and its water systems.

The Penro said the LGUs should also help enforce laws that help preserve the watershed area, including those that prohibit mining and quarrying and other activities that harm highly endangered species within the CCPL such as the Cebu black shama, Cebu flower pecker and the cinnamon tree.

The CCPL covers the Buhisan Watershed Forest Reserve, Mananga Watershed Forest Reserve, Sudlon National Park, Central Cebu National Park ug Kotkot-Lusaran Watershed Forest Reserve in the cities of Cebu, Talisay, Toledo and Danao, and the municipalities of Minglanilla, Consolacion, Liloan, Compostela and Balamban.

It is home to biodiversity hotspots like the Tabunan forest, Tabunan cliffs, Udlom forest, Cantipla forest, Manungal ridge and Gaas peak, among others. (PNA) JMC/EB/EBP