THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Prime Infrastructure, Inc. (Prime Infra) entered into a partnership to fund the Watershed Instrumentation Program, which will collect data to help guide water security and climate resilience programs.
The partnership involves a P6.2-million donation by Prime Infra.
The company’s president Guillaume Lucci said the tieup represents an “investment in proactive resource management, transparency, and the overall health of our watershed.”
The project will build an automated weather station (AWS) on the Upper Marikina River Watershed to measure air temperature, humidity and pressure, rainfall, wind speed and direction, and solar radiation.
According to 2021 Climate Risk Country Profile, the Philippines ranks 38th out of 191 countries in terms of climate change disaster risk.
Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla said the DENR views the project as a means of “enhancing the conservation and sustainable management of our natural resources by establishing strong partnerships with organizations that share a high level of commitment to environmental protection and preservation.” — Andre Christopher H. Alampay