Lipa City, Batangas – DENR CENRO Lipa recently presented to the members of the Forest Land Use Planning Committee, Technical Working Group, and City Development Council in the presence of Lipa City Chief Executive, Mayor Eric B. Africa, the Draft Forest Land Use Plan (FLUP) for the City. The participatory and responsive Forest and Land Use Plan of the City of Lipa is a ten-year plan covering the year 2022-2031. The Forest Land Use Planning (FLUP) is a participatory process which aims to integrate and mainstream the management of forest and forest lands to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) of a municipality or city. 

For Lipa City, the FLUP covers the 1,286.12 hectares of forest land area within the Mt. Malaraya Forest Reserve, in Barangays Sto. Niño, San Celestino, Talisay, and Malitlit. The forestland of Lipa City exhibits a remarkable natural forest attributed to its wide range of flora and fauna.  

Prior to the finalization of the plan, series of activities were conducted such as planning and consultation meeting/workshop, field visits, creation of technical working group committee, formulation and signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), generation of maps, and allocation and prioritization of subwatersheds. 

The presentation activity was graced with the presence of Honorable Mayor Eric B. Africa and members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, key officials of the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), City Environment and Natural Resources (CENRO) and the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR). The presentation of the draft FLUP of the City of Lipa is in line with the strengthened DENR-LGU partnership on the conservation and protection of the environment and sustainable utilization and development of the natural resources of the State. ###