“Kaya hindi nabalanse ang takbo ay dahil may matabang nasa likod ayon kay Dr Marissa Paglicawan”. Iyan ang naging sagot ni Paglicawan ng nabuksan ang tanong nang launching ng tryk ni Juan na muntik ng tumaob pabaliktad sakay ang mga mamahayag sa tapat mismo ng tanggapan ng STII, DOST compound sa Bicutan.

Ang punto ng mga mamahayag ay dapat bukod sa makabagong design ng tryk ay tiyakin din ang kaligtasan ng mga pasahero nito hindi lang ng nagmamaneho. Ayon pa rin sa kanya ay hindi na nila ginalaw ang disenyo ng mga nakapilang tricycle sa labas ng compound ng DOST at nilagyan lamang nila ng bubong ang mga units nitong ginawang sample. Ibig kayang ipakahulugan nito na kung ang isa ay delikadong madisgrasya ay lahat ng mga nakapilang tricycle sa labas ng compound ay hindi safe?

Iba’t ibang mga teknolohiya ang handog ng ITDI sa ginawang forum tungkol sa ” Green Engineering Technologies”. na ginanap nitong Enero 16, 2018 sa FNRI Auditorium. Layunin nito na may papulot na teknolohiya ang mga bisita na i-adapt para sa isang masigla at kiitang negosyo, kapansin pansin na ang tema ay uminog sa kung paano magsi synergized ang teknolohiya at ang pakalinga sa kalikasan.

Dumalo rin si Usec Rowena Guevara, naroon din ang kasalukuyang OIC ng ITDI Dr. Annabelle Briones. Sa nasabing forum ay dinaluhan ng mga Provincial S&T Officer buhat sa ibat ibang rehiyon kabilang ang sa lalawigan ng Bulacan Angie Parungao, Kinatawan mula sa DOE, mga negoyante, mga representante ng Local Government Units at ng kagawaran ng enerhiya (Department of Energy).

Ang susunod na Technology Conference ay sa Pebrero 15, 2018. (MJ Olvina- Balaguer, 09053611058, maryjaneolvina@gmail.com,)with photos from Jimmy Camba

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DOST-PCAARRD reviews project on Watershed Management in the Philippines

Researchers from six implementing state universities and colleges (SUCs) and agencies recently gathered at the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) to discuss and assess the status and accomplishments of the “National Research and Development Project on Watershed Management in the Philippines (Phase 2).”

With a vision of enhancing science and technology-based watershed and ecosystem management, University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Professor Dr. Rex Victor O. Cruz and his team aim to develop a network of learning watersheds and watershed management decision support system. DOST-PCAARRD served as the funding and monitoring agency of the two-year project.

According to Dr. Cruz, “the network of learning watersheds will serve as venues for building up long series of empirical databases and local knowledge on watershed and ecosystem resources through long term continuous monitoring.” As the empirical database and knowledge grow, watershed management decisions and policies are expected to become more effective in the attainment of the project’s objectives.

The review assured that the data would be updated and be made accessible after project completion since all information would be turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Agriculture (DA).

DENR and DA will continue to gather data through the various instrumentations installed in the six learning watersheds namely: Pagsanjan-Lumban watershed in Laguna; Quiaoit river watershed in Ilocos Norte; Saug watershed in Davao del Norte; Abuan watershed in Isabela; Muleta Watershed in Bukidnon; and Quinali Watershed in Albay.

Project leaders and representatives/staff from the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), Mining and Degraded Areas Rehabilitation Research Center (MDARRC) under the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB), Isabela State University (ISU), Central Mindanao University (CMU), and Bicol University (BU) attended the review.

The next phase of the project requires implementing SUCs and agencies to submit other requirements and to cascade the knowledge generated from the project to the key stakeholders living near watershed areas in comprehensible terms (Eirene Grace C. Zaragoza, DOST-PCAARRD S&T Media Services).

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LBSCFI launches science tourism project

A niche tourism brand for students, budding scientists, or even armchair Einsteins is currently in the works in Los Baños.

Through the Los Baños Science Community Foundation, Inc. (LBSCFI), the “Development of Science Tourism in Los Baños” project was launched through the signing of a memorandum of agreement with the CALABARZON branches of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Department of Education (DepED).

The project aims to promote science and technology (S&T), increase the number of tourists in Los Baños, and boost the engagements of local stakeholders and enterprises.

According to LBSCFI President and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) IV-A Regional Director Alexander R. Madrigal, the project also aims to “promote S&T as a career path among students.”

As an emerging niche tourism concept, “there is no body of knowledge yet in science tourism,” said Forester Roberto P. Cereno, Chair of the LBSCFI Tourism Committee and director of the University of the Philippines Los Baños-College of Forestry and Natural Resources (UPLB-CFNR) Training Center for Tropical Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability.

Cereno however emphasized the scopes of science tourism, which are “science in tourism” and “tourism in science.” The former showcases S&T innovations and interventions, while the latter packages and promotes S&T ideas, discoveries, laboratory breakthroughs into “awe-inspiring” and “mind-blowing” tourist attractions.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Region IV-A Regional Director Rebecca V. Labit expressed support to science tourism. She describes the undertaking as “timely, needed, and speaks well of the sustainability for tourism.”

Also present during the launch were Los Baños Mayor Caesar P. Perez, Lopez Elementary School Principal Bernon Abellera, members of the national and local media, and representatives of LBSCFI member-agencies.

Los Baños was designated as the “Special Science and Nature City” of the Philippines in 2000 based on Proclamation No. 349. Visitors flock to this university town to see the scientific outputs of LBSCFI member-agencies, which include UPLB, International Rice Research Institute, PCAARRD, DOST IV-A, and other institutions and organizations, aside from its natural wonders and other tourist attractions (Butch S. Pagcaliwagan, DOST-PCAARRD S&T Media Services)