Masungi calls for 'firm, fearless' enforcement to protect Upper Marikina watershed and its defenders

A forest ranger opens a checkpoint inside the reforestation area on July 22, 2021.

Philstar.com / EC Toledo

MANILA, Philippines — The Masungi Georeserve Foundation called for “firm and fearless” implementation of environmental laws and regulations as it criticized the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for its alleged failure to address the violent attacks against forest rangers and illegal activities in the watershed.

In a statement, the conservation organization in Baras, Rizal said it is holding DENR accountable for the mauling of Masungi employees last week and the shooting of two forest rangers by men suspected to be working for resorts inside the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL) in July 2021.

The foundation said it begged the environment department to prosecute, penalize and evict illegal occupants in the reforestation site it is managing inside the protected area “to no avail.”

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/02/23/2162874/masungi-calls-firm-fearless-enforcement-protect-upper-marikina-watershed-and-its-defenders