Forest conservation measure hurdles House

The House of Representatives has unanimously approved on third and final reading House Bill (HB) No.7496, which aims to delineate the specific limits of forestlands of the public domain for the conservation, protection, and development of the country’s forest resources.

All 239 House members present during the voting favored the proposed “Forestland Limits Act" principally authored by Bukidnon 1st district Rep. Maria Lourdes Acosta-Alba.

The measure gives life to Section 4, Article 4 of the Constitution, mandating Congress to determine by law the specific limits of forestlands and national parks by marking clearly their boundaries on the ground.

The bill refers to delineation as the “conduct of site investigation, field reconnaissance and assessment, and staking of boundaries between forestlands, national parks and agricultural lands verified in the field in accordance with the criteria set forth under Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order No. 2008-24.”

Under the bill, the following shall constitute forestlands: all lands of the public domain already classified as forestland based on existing land classification maps used by the DENR; all permanent forest reserves proclaimed as such by the president or declared by law; and such areas within the unclassified lands of the public domain that were assessed and delineated by the DENR in accordance with pertinent laws, rules and regulations and which may hereafter be classified as forestlands by the DENR.

In determining the specific limits of forestlands in the country, the previously established land classification survey lines per province with their respective technical description and maps shall be the basic data and information that will be used as reference material in undertaking the validation, assessment and delineation process.

All completed assessment and delineation reports for a given province shall be endorsed to the National Review and Evaluation Committee as created.

The committee shall be composed of the following: DENR secretary as chairperson; secretary of the socioeconomic planning and director-general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) as vice chairperson; and secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA), and chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) as members.

The same process shall be followed for other provinces with on-going assessments and delineation activities until such time that all the boundaries of forestlands of the whole country shall have been delineated.