THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources is putting up a satellite office of its Mines and Geosciences Bureau in the resource-rich Dinagat Islands in northeast Mindanao.
Nearly 80 years since it was declared as a mineral reservation area in 1939, Dinagat Islands will now have a monitoring office that would strengthen the enforcement of mining laws and regulations in the area.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu issued Administrative Order No. 2018-01 order the establishment of an MGB satellite office in Dinagat Islands, Caraga region’s newest province.
The islands, formerly part of Surigao del Norte, has abundant mineral deposits, particularly nickel and chromite, and is blessed with a rich biological diversity.
“We have to prevent or totally stop degradation of Dinagat Islands which may have been caused by mining operations in the area,” Cimatu said.
“Establishing a satellite office there would help ensure that we protect the richness of its biodiversity from the mountains to the sea, benefitting more of its inhabitants,” he added.
Such would ensure “a people-oriented mining sector that would protect the environment, contribute more significantly to the national income, and be world-class and competitive.”
Since its declaration as a mineral reservation, Dinagat Islands’ rich natural environment has been threatened by mining operations.
The islands’ 200-hectare natural bonsai forest has a pending application for declaration as a world heritage site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.