Delineation of forest lines completed this year

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the delineation of the country’s forest lines will be completed this year.

The delineation will serve as basis for the implementation of protection, conservation and development initiatives within forestland boundaries.

This is to prevent encroachments on forestlands and their conversion to non-forest uses for agriculture and settlement purposes or where structural developments are made.

“The remaining 16 provinces, which have already been partially delineated covering 11,529.8 kilometers, will be covered this year,” DENR Secretary Ramon Paje said.

To date, the DENR has already completed the delineation and assessment of a total of 54,642 kilometers of forest lines, covering 61 of the country’s 77 provinces, excluding the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Paje said they still have 14,810 kilometers of forest lines to be completed this year in the provinces of Benguet and Mt. Province in the Cordillera Administrative Region; Ilocos Norte (Region 1); Nueva Vizcaya (Region 2); Quezon (Region 4-A); Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Palawan and Romblon (Region 4-B); Albay and Camarines Sur (Region 5); Northern Samar (Region 8); Zamboanga Sibugay (Region 9); Bukidnon (Region 10); North Cotabato (Region 12); and Agusan del Norte (Region 13).

Paje also expressed support for the inclusion of the bill on forest line delineation among the priority measures being pushed by Malacañang, saying it will “affirm the constitutional provision mandating Congress to set the specific limits of forestlands and national parks.”

The proposed bill providing for the delineation of the specific forest limits of public domain was one of 13 priority measures presented by President Aquino before the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council in its recent meeting in Malacañang.

“The prospects of finally establishing the country’s permanent forest lines is getting clearer now with the push of the forest line delineation measure by President Aquino in Congress,” Paje said.

He said the bill is in keeping with Section 4 of Article XII of the 1987 Constitution which states that Congress “shall... determine by law the specific limits of forestlands and national parks, marking clearly their boundaries on the ground.”