Calaca City -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) CALABARZON signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Local Government Unit of Calaca, Batangas for the adoption of the Forest Land Use Plan (FLUP) for the newly declared city, on October 19, 2022.

 

“Finally, after one year para sa formulation, ang atin pong pipirmahan ngayon ay adoption na po (ng FLUP). May plano na po, at naging participative naman po ang ating proseso sa pagbuo ng FLUP. Ito ay isang mahalagang plano para ma-incorporate natin sa updating ng Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Timing na timing po na siyudad na ang Calaca. Ito po ay plano natin, plano na pagmamay-ari ng city government para sa magiging development plan ng ating siyudad,” DENR CALABARZON Regional Executive Director Nilo B. Tamoria said.

 

DENR CALABARZON and Calaca LGU first forged a MOA for the preparation of the FLUP of then municipality, on July 27, 2021. Prior to the adoption of the plan, a series of activities, per Forest Management Bureau Technical Bulletin No. 2A dated June 2018, such as data and map collection, situational analysis, participatory prioritization of sub watershed and allocation of forests and forest lands, actual plan preparation, legitimization, and approval of plan by the DENR regional office, were conducted.

 

The recently concluded MOA signing for the FLUP adoption formally cued the start of the implementation of the 10-year plan by the LGU with the assistance of the DENR.

 

Executive Order No. 318 promoting Sustainable Forest Management in the Philippines mandated LGUs to incorporate FLUPs into their comprehensive land use plans.

 

Per FLUP Training Guide, the FLUP for a municipality/city shows the concerned LGU how to map and assess its forest and forestland assets that will complement the analysis of its settlement and agricultural areas.

 

The plan also helps the LGU, DENR, and other stakeholders agree on the approach to assign forestlands under various tenure, management or allocation arrangements to close “open access” forests and forestlands, and guides the same in determining priorities for protection and production that considers the interdependencies between the uplands, lowlands and coastal areas. ###