By
Claro A. Lanipa
PAGADIAN CITY - A
partnership involving onsite management of forest and forestlands has been
forged recently between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR)-9 and the municipality of
Talusan, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Regional Executive Director Arleigh J.
Adorable and Talusan Mayor Orlando A. Ramiso signed a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) for the implementation of the Forest Land Use Planning (FLUP) in the said
municipality.
FLUP
provides local government units (LGUs), DENR and other stakeholders
direct participation to effectively manage forest and forestlands within their
area of responsibility in a manner that will reconcile diverse interests and
ensure that wide range of forest goods and services are sustained.
It is centered on the context of
sustainable forest management, biodiversity management, climate change
adaptation, disaster risk reduction and management and the reduction of emission
from deforestation and forest degradation. It harmonizes management of
protected areas, ancestral lands and other forest and forestland areas so that
they complement downstream uses.
RED Adorable said that both parties
have agreed to collaborate and share resources to improve the governance of
forest and forestlands and are committed to jointly support, contribute and
participate in the activities to be undertaken.
“They shall undertake FLUP as an
integral activity of Comprehensive Land Use Planning (CLUP) to determine the
optimum and balanced use of natural resources to support local, regional and
national growth and development as mandated under Joint Memorandum Circular
98-01 of 1998,” he added.
Mayor Ramiso welcomed the partnership
as this would help them greatly not only in terms of developing a comprehensive
forest land use plan but also in speeding up implementation of various programs
and projects related to environment protection and preservation within his
municipality. (FPG/CAL/DENR-IX/PIA9)