DENR to enforce ‘no-build zones’

MANILA, Philippines - Authorities will implement “no-build zones” along coastal communities in Eastern Visayas ravaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje yesterday said his department will implement the no-build zone with a 40-meter easement in coastal communities destroyed by the monster storm on Nov. 8.

Teams from the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau have identified specific areas that should be off-limits to residents and infrastructure.

Paje said the no-build zone will be implemented along the entire eastern seaboard of Eastern Visayas.

“We will further check whatever is the applicable remedy to a specific area, like if it concerns coastal communities, we will apply this ‘natural or soft’ method like planting mangroves and developing beach forests,” Paje said.

If the subject areas are near dams, they will have to build the necessary infrastructure, he said.

“Our thrust with regards to this project is to build back better. We have to build more resilient communities,” Paje said.

He said they have submitted a report to the Department of Public Works and Highways on the affected areas.

The government, through the DENR, has earmarked P347 million for the restoration of mangrove and natural beach forests in coastal areas battered by Yolanda.

The massive coastal rehabilitation program would cover worst hit areas in the Eastern Visayas, particularly the province of Leyte and its capital Tacloban City.

“Tacloban is a major concern given its being a major population center, but the undertaking will cover practically the entire eastern seaboard of Eastern Visayas,” Paje said.

He said the main objective is to restore the region’s degraded coastal forests to make its coastlines less vulnerable to extreme weather events.

“It is clear in the law that we cannot allow people to build houses in areas for mangroves and beach forests,” Paje said.

A provision of Presidential Decree 1067, also known as the Philippine Water Code, states that “banks of rivers and streams and the shores of the seas and lakes throughout their entire length and within a zone of three meters in urban areas, 20 meters in agricultural areas and 40 meters in forest areas, along their margins are subject to the easement of public use in the interest of recreation, navigation, floatage, fishing and salvage.”

Under the plan, some 19 million seedlings and propagules from mangrove trees and beach forest species like talisay will be planted over 1,900 hectares of coastline under the National Greening Program.

Paje said about 80 percent of the allocation will be used for the government’s cash-for-work program for typhoon survivors who will take part in seedling production, planting site preparation, actual planting and maintenance of mangrove and beach forest areas.

“Restoring the coastal forests in Eastern Visayas will set the foundation for the reconstruction and recovery of both coastal communities and urban areas in the province. We will design it properly and have it approved by concerned local government units,” he said.

Paje said the establishment of coastal “green belts” will be done in clusters to allow fishermen access to the shorelines, as well as other sustainable activities like ecotourism and coastal management.

Other areas covered by the coastal rehabilitation plan are Dulag town in Leyte; the municipalities of Guiuan, Llorente and Balangiga in Eastern Samar; and the town of Basey in Samar.

Death toll now 6,092

The death toll left by Yolanda has increased to 6,092 from 6,069, the figure reported by National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Eduardo del Rosario for three days running.

Del Rosario also reported that 27,665 people were injured while 1,779 are still missing.

Also as of yesterday, 890,895 families or more than four million people were displaced by the monster storm with 101,527 individuals still staying in 381 evacuation centers.

On the other hand, close to four million are staying with relatives.– Jaime Laude, Helen Flores