“Today, we will just end a chapter of the story but the next day we will have to open a new chapter.” A take away statement Dir. Reynaldo Digamo of the Environment Management Bureau – Cordillera Administrative Region (EMB-CAR) mentioned during the Sustainability Memorandum of Agreement entered on the 27th of June 2017. This was continue reading : A Commitment Sealed

It has been three years since Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation Inc. (JVOFI) launched the USAID Phil-Am funded project, Protecting and Defending the Amburayan River Basin and  its’ Watersheds through Good Governance and Active Peoples’ Participation. On May 12, 2017, 85 participants gathered for the final Amburayan River Inter-Regional Stakeholders’ Closeout Meeting. A two day activity continue reading : Continuing the Project’s Mantra

Economic losses due to illnesses, decreasing number of aquatic resources, and decreasing tourist visitors are just a few of the outcomes of river pollution. And the Amburayan River System is not exempted from these. The most persistent pollutant of the Amburayan River since water quality monitoring was conducted in the 20 monitoring stations is fecal continue reading : Achieving Sanitation Goals and Targets

“Protection of the environment goes beyond boundaries, cultural differences challenges faced, beliefs and experiences.” One lesson that was shared and given emphasis during the writeshop conducted on February 28 to March 2, 2017. Participated by 52 project partners and 8 JVOFI project staff, an exchange of best or good practices and lessons learned during the continue reading : Heartfelt Stories Made Known

 “If you are part of the Amburayan watershed or communal forest, what part are you and why?” – a jump start question that was asked to the participants to define their involvement in the protection of the watershed during the 2-day training on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) for the core technical working group (TWG) of continue reading : Improving Performance, Achieving Results

Duty. Opportunity. Honor. Three bold things that build up a hero. Three simple words that describe a bigger meaning of sacrifice. Three words of value that project volunteerism. The newly deputized Deputy Environment and Natural Resources Officers (DENROs) of Benguet and Region 1 were recognized by their respective partners. In Benguet, 27 out of 38 continue reading : An Occasion to Stand Proud

The Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation Inc. continues to provide opportunities to strengthen practical skills needed for the project’s sustainability. On December 13, 2016, training on the operation and maintenance of the Amburayan River Project Website was conducted. Facilitated by the Linkage Web developer, this was participated by the JVOFI project staff, DENR-EMB (MIS Section) of continue reading : Teaching Minds, Building Wisdom

Monitoring of Trees Planted November’s main activity was the quarterly monitoring of trees planted in the different areas of the Upper and Lower Amburayan River Basin. The activity covered the seedlings planted last June to September 2016 where a total of 13,250 assorted fruit bearing and forest seedlings were planted in 9.4 hectares.  Calliandra, fire continue reading : Making Trees Count