DENR seeks science-based environmental protection
ACCEPTABLE, science-based, and risk-informed strategies will be developed to conserve and protect the environment and natural resources through partnerships with various government agencies, civil society organizations and advocates, industries, and the academe.
This was disclosed in a speech delivered by Jonas Leones, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs, on behalf of Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, during the recently-held 48th Philippine Business Conference and Expo hosted by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) in Manila.
Leones explained that the move is part of the agency’s strategic plans and programs on forestry and mining, which are geared towards maximizing its potential to support the country’s growth trajectory within the context of resilience and sustainable development.
He added that the plans and programs are consistent with the policy statement of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), to wit: “The preservation of the environment is the preservation of life.”
Leones further disclosed that to encourage more investment in forestry, the DENR will establish a conducive investment climate by developing a real-time, single-point access forestry investment portal that will provide information and services about forestry investment and ready areas for development and utilization.
The portal, he added, will have links to financial and credit facilities of partner financial institutions such as the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), which supports the DENR’s agro-forestry plantation program.
Leones also disclosed that the portal will also offer access to insurance packages of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. for selected tree species in a developed forest plantation.
“The DENR is open for a public-private partnership to develop an estimated 960,000 hectares for timber and agro-forestry production,” Leones said.
He added that the forestry sector could also be a potential source of nature-based offsets in carbon trading and offsetting schemes that could generate climate finance from carbon market mechanisms through voluntary markets, compliance markets, and result-based payments through “REDD+” or the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.
Leones said the DENR has also intensified forest protection by curbing illegal logging in reducing “hotspot” areas nationwide.
Recognizing the various benefits of bamboo in stabilizing river systems and serving as a carbon sink, Leones said that the agency is looking into partnerships with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and other government agencies for the development of the bamboo industry, one of the main targets in its National Greening Program.
The DENR currently oversees 15 million hectares of land classified as forest lands. In 2011, the country’s forest cover was 6.8 million hectares, but it increased by 5.6 percent or 7.2 million hectares based on the recent 2020 data captured by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority or NAMRIA.
