ILOILO, City – In a bid to curb the growing incidences on timber poaching and illegal forest activities in the region, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) have forged a Memorandum of Agreement to strengthen the campaign against the said activities.
Acknowledging the role of NICA as the primary intelligence gathering and analysis arm of the government that is well-equipped in carrying out overt, covert and clandestine intelligence programs, the DENR tapped NICA’s expertise to readily resolve the challenges of timber poaching and illegal forest activities especially in the region’s Protected Areas.
DENR 6 will be furnishing NICA 6 with reports from the ground based on the spot reports/incident reports submitted by the Lawin Patrollers as their reference in the conduct of intelligence monitoring.
On the part of DENR 6, Regional Executive Director Livino B. Duran acknowledged the limited resources and manpower of the Department to really track down illegal activities in the region’s forestlands.
Western Visayas have beautiful protected areas that has become an attraction to those who commit illegal activities, such as timber poaching and illegal cutting. Through its collaboration with NICA, the DENR 6 aims to expand its protection activities and enforcement of not only forestry laws but will include other environmental laws./DENR 6
