Key officials of International City/Country Managers Association (ICMA), considered as world’s leading association visited Puerto Princesa City recently to various projects and initiatives supported by the United States government.
Jeffrey Towery, ICMA President from McMinville, Oregon, led the delegation of 24 ICMA officials from various countries including that from the US, Canada, Belgium, and Eswatini Africa during their two day visit in this city.
Among the sites visited includes a fishing community in Barangay Tagburos, this city, specifically the seaweeds project under the USAID’s Fish Right, Puerto Princesa Water Reclamation and Learning Center (PPWRLC), a sewage and septage treatment plant which is a joint venture project of the city government with a private partner, a materials consolidation and working area of the informal waste picker sector in Barangay Bancao-Bancao which is supported by the USAID’s Clean Cities Blue Ocean (CCBO) and in Dang Maria, Bed and Breakfast, a private resort which is a site of tree assessment and inventory conducted by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (City ENRO) of Puerto Princesa.
In PPWRLC, Acting Assistant City ENRO, Cardelar Stevie Angel M. Madriñan, who also head the City ENRO’s environmental management services division, City ENRO staff and PPWRLC employees accompanied the ICMA officials during their visit to the facility.
The USAID through its Strengthening Urban Resilience through Growth and Equity (SURGE) has assisted the City Government of Puerto Princesa as part of its continuing assistance on water and sanitation, that paved way for the City Government to establish its sewage and septage treatment facility in this city.
After PPWRLC, the team proceeded to the project site/ consolidation center of informal waste pickers sector of Puerto Princesa City who are part of the Project Zacchaeus Cooperative-Eco Kolek supported by the USAID’s Clean Cities Blue Ocean to help solve ocean plastic pollution.
Another site visited by ICMA team was Dang Maria, located in Barangay Bancao-Bancao this city, and one of the private resort which a US Forest Service (USFS) technology and technical assistance to the City ENRO was applied.
Atty. Carlo B. Gomez, City Environment and Natural Resources Officer said that i-Tree is a mainstay project of the City ENRO supported by United States Forest Service (USFS) and USAID. Since i-Tree was introduced in Puerto Princesa in 2016, the City ENRO has conducted tree assessments in several identified sites such as Plaza Cuartel, City Hall complex, Balayong Park, Acacia Tunnel, private resorts, schools, and other identified priority sites.
In a tree assessment conducted by City ENRO team on September 2019 in Dang Maria, they inventoried a total of 380 trees of various species in an area of 1.3 hectares which is the portion with a tree cover.
For carbon storage, trees in Dang Maria are estimated to store 88.3 metric tons equivalent to 88,300 kg of carbon with an associated value of P844,000. In carbon sequestration, the gross sequestration of Dang Maria’s trees is about 6.221 metric tons or 6,221 kg of carbon per year with a value of P59,400. Meanwhile for oxygen production, trees in Dang Maria are estimated to produce 16.59 metric tons or 16,590 kg of oxygen per year.
Also, the trees and shrubs of Dang Maria help to reduce runoff by an estimated 182 cubic meters a year with an associated value of P21,800.00 a year.
“i-Tree tool is an aggressive approach in combatting climate change and to save the remaining trees and urban forests of the city”, explained Atty. Gomez.
I-Tree Eco Tools developed by USFS, is a collection of urban forestry analysis and benefits assessment tools to quantify and value tree’s ecosystem services including pollution removal, carbon sequestration, avoided carbon emissions, avoided water runoff. It helps planners understand their urban forest resource and the ecosystem services it provides, and use that information to support sustainable urban development and economic growth. Understanding urban forest’s structure, function and value can promote management decisions that will improve human health and environmental quality.
Anna Grace Dejaro, staff in Puerto Princesa City of the Change Project of USAID said that the visiting key officials were impressed by their visits to various sites.
“Sobrang impressive. Magaling ang naging outcome ng visit nila sa projects” she said.
ICMA, is considered as the world’s leading association of professional city and country managers and other employees who serve local governments. They are supporting various areas throughout the world by offering professional development programs, research, publications, data and information, technical assistance, and training to thousands of city, town, and county chief administrative officers, their staffs, and organizations throughout the world.
