INFRASTRUCTURE projects worth P86 million under the 9.244 billion yen (about P4.3 billion) Forestland Management Project (FMP) of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have been completed, JICA reported on Tuesday. In a statement, JICA said the projects that were recently turned over to local government units include bridge, roads, and irrigation facilities in Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino provinces in Cagayan Valley, and Ifugao in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). The JICA-DENR 10-year program aims to protect 71,300 hectares of forests in the country’s watershed areas, including the Jalaur Watershed in Iloilo, Upper Magat and Cagayan River Basins, and Pampanga River Basin. “The agroforestry infrastructure support like roads and bridges are meant to support the livelihood activities of the people’s organizations (POs) in the project areas. Likewise, JICA will continue to support the training of POs so they can manage their enterprises and keep their organizations viable,” JICA Philippines Senior Representative Yo Ebisawa said in a statement. Aside from infrastructure, the FMP, which is scheduled for completion by 2022, also provides training and enterprise development support to some 149 POs.

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