Story and photos by Leonardo Perante II / Correspondent
“FOR a world-class mining project like Didipio Mine, we use green-production technology on our processing operation, so we do not use harmful chemicals that could create health hazards, as we vow to keep waterways clean and host community green,” OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. (OGPI) Senior Vice President for Communications and External Affairs Chito Gozar said.
On a corporate level, the firm tied up with the International River Foundation (IRF), which works in partnerships around the world to promote sustainable restoration and management of river basins and waterways.
“Through encouraging local community participation with waterways restoration and management, IRF is taking a leading role in the Philippines to help minimize the impact of natural disasters on local waterways,” OGPI Country Director Bradley Norman said.
The IRF is an Australian-based public-benefit organization that works to fund and promote the sustainable restoration and management of river basins with the end view of achieving improved health, ecological, economic and social outcomes for people and the environment.
It is with this token of action that the WE BUILD (Water and Environment—Building Unity for Inclusive Living and Development) Project came into the picture. It generally aims to further strengthen the cocapacity of government, nongovernment, industries, communities and disadvantaged sectors on water resources and river protection, conservation and recovery using an Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) approach.
The goal is to foster collective stewardship of environmental and water resources to achieve sustainable returns of river health and river-basin management focusing on the Addalam River Basin and its tributary, the Didipio River.
The project has four components, like capacity building, science and water quality, livelihood linkages and intercountry and international engagements.
The project aims to achieve the establishment of Addalam IRBM organization, leadership education on water quality and river management; setting best practices in riparian-zone enhancement and learning exchange on river-recovery best practices.
OGPI has contributed AU$ 300,000, or P8.82million, to the project to date that has allowed the conversion of WE BUILD Project Structure into Addalam River Basin Management Committee as a permanent organizational structure under the Cagayan River Basin Council and the preparation of the draft on Addalam River Basin Strategic Management Plan.
The Australian mining firm, through WE BUILD project, likewise, initiated formation of River Conservation Clubs at the Quirino State University and Nueva Vizcaya State University and Implementation of the Leadership Education on River Science and Water Quality in three local high schools in the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.
Two technical working group workshops were conducted in July for the preparation of the Addalam River Basin Strategic Management Plan. Another workshop has been scheduled in early September to identify the priority projects and those to be included in the 2018 investment plan of the respective participating stakeholders.
To implement and manage the company’s reforestations and greening programs, OceanaGold Sustainable Agroforestry Inc. (OGSAI) manages and operates a central nursery at Barangay Tucod in Cabarroguis, Quirino, for the production of various agro-forest-tree seedlings.
OGSAI is an affiliate company of OGPI with the primary purpose of managing the forestry projects of OGPI and establishing enterprise development through agro-forestry in partnership with local farmers.
It has established (213) hectares of reforestation projects in Nueva Vizcaya, in partnership with (93) small landholders, local environments offices and local governments units (LGUs). It has entered 116 lease and profit-sharing agreements with small landholders for the establishment and maintenance of a 200-hectare commercial tree plantation in Quirino.
Likewise, it has established (3.5) hectares of demonstration farms for various varieties of rubber tree and coffee to determine the site suitability of preferred agro forestry crops. It also donated seedlings of various tree species to LGUs, schools and government agencies in support to the establishment of more than (1,200) hectares of plantation.
OGSAI also entered into a tripartite agreement for the establishment of an Agricultural Social Enterprise with the Dibibi Tree Farmers, Grameen Australia and the Philippines.
It has launched a naturally organic-demonstration farm to serve as training ground for community partners and other local farmers. It, likewise, established a central nursery with the capacity of producing (500,000) seedlings a year for company and stakeholders. It has developed a macrosomatic-propagation facility that produces planting materials from endemically threatened foresttree species, which seeds are difficult to propagate.
So far, OGSAI has raised around (1,075,000) seedlings of various forest and fruit-bearing trees from 2014 to June 2017, using various propagation technologies. It has organized a community association for the operation of the central nursery
The Dibibi Upland Tree Farmers and Producers Cooperative which was organized as partners focused on agribusiness, particularly on organic-vegetable farming have gained access to the Social Development Management Program livelihood fund. OGSAI has assisted them in the preparation of the project proposal on organic-fertilizer production, which will be funded by a P120,000 livelihood grant from the Didipio Mine SDMP funds.
“We want to push sustainable environmental compliance with our advance rehabilitation programs and keep OceanaGold institutionalized as a ‘Green’ environment-friendly mining company,” OGSAI Chairman Jose Leviste Jr said.
Image credits: Leonardo Perante II
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