December 4, 2014, University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) College, Laguna, The Philippines.  Local Barangay (town) Captains and government unit representatives from the Department of Environment & Natural Resources (DENR) in the municipalities of San Gabriel, San Juan, Santol, Bagulin, Bacnotan and San Fernando, La Union, gathered from November 30, 2014 to December 4, 2014 to take part in the “Training Course on Participatory Management of Baroro Watershed in La Union, The Philippines”.

Organized by the UPLB, led by Project Leader Prof. Dr. Rex Victor O. Cruz (former Chancellor of UPLB), the event was sponsored with the support of the Office of Congressman Victor Ortega, Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University, Fostering Education & Environment for Development (FEED) and a grant from the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN).

The implementation of this first of three training courses aimed to provide awareness to the leaders in the community of La Union Province – on the value of the Baroro watershed, exposing participants to various monitoring equipment, procedures and farming systems such as those in Laguna. The event was a direct result of the earlier held “Forum on the Management of the Baroro Watershed” conducted last September 18, 2014 – which revealed the need for capacity building on monitoring activities and farming systems that could contribute to the integrity of the Baroro watershed.

The program was attended by the Dean of the College of Forestry and Natural Resources (CFNR), Dr Juan M. Pulhin who delivered the welcome speech thanking the participants for making the trip out to Laguna all the way from various municipalities in La Union.

The training was led by Prof. Dr. Rex Victor O. Cruz, Project Leader of the Baroro APN Program; Ms. Catherine de Luna, University Researcher at the Institute of Agroforestry, CFNR, working from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Extension; Prof. Dr. Wilfredo M. Carandang, speaking on the subject of “Agroforestry for Watershed Management” (UPLB); and Mr. Jacob Bakker, FEED Chairman, who delivered an address during the Closing Ceremony on 4 December 2014.

The common theme throughout the talks and training focused on encouraging and engaging more participatory action in these efforts, as shared by FEED Chairman JAcob Bakker:

“Baroro watershed is all about water. Life on earth without water will not last very long if we do not address the causes today….which is where the expertise of UPLB comes in – to improve the Management of the Baroro watershed by training and providing better education of all the stakeholders, farmers, residents and LGU units in the area through good agriculture practices (GAP).

The help of the students of UPLB participating in this project is crucial by getting them involved in the training of all stakeholders at the local level and as such will be an excellent educational experience for themselves on how to interact with all the levels of people affected by this noble intention to improve the Management of the Baroro watershed.”

Click here for the Speech by FEED Chairman Jacob Bakker, 4 December 2014.

For more information on this training course, click here: Baroro Training Program 30 Nov – 4 Dec 2014 or email info@feed.org.ph

© FEED Inc, 2014-2016.