Army joins academe, LGU to help save marshland

KIDAPAWAN CITY --- The Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion (IB) has partnered with various stakeholders to help save the Liguasan marshland situated along the border of North Cotabato and Maguindanao provinces. 

Last January 23, the 7th Infantry Battalion signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the initiative with the University of Southern Mindanao and the local government unit of Kabacan, North Cotabato during a simple program at the 7th IB headquarters at Barangay Paatan in the same town.

Lt. Col. Neil Roldan, 7th IB commander, said the partnership aims to solidify the collaboration of the parties in the delivery of programs for the protection and regeneration of the Liguasan Marsh, a 220,000-hectare wetland in Central Mindanao.

The marshland spans the peripheries of North Cotabato, Maguindanao, and Sultan Kudarat.

Kabacan is among the towns in North Cotabato that sits beside the marshland, which is rich in natural resources that provide a livelihood to the locals.

“This is our one small step to save Liguasan Marsh,” Roldan said in a statement.

                      

He said the MOU also aims to address the declining aquatic life and biodiversity of the marsh, once an abundant one, giving hope for possible livelihood for the community.               

                               

With its advanced and scientific technologies coupled with its advocacy to fight climate change through biodiversity conservation and natural resource protection, the USM said it will work closely with the military and other stakeholders, especially the local government, to make the environmental cause a reality.

Roldan also called on the residents living along the Ligusan Marsh to alert the military and other government authorities if they detect any presence of the Islamic State-inspired Dawlah Islamiyah and other armed groups in the area. (Edwin Fernandez, PNA - Cotabato, MINDANAO EXPOSE')