A DE-ZONING of Cebu’s protected forest landscape to divide protected zones from production zones will be completed within the year, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas (DENR-7) said yesterday.
DENR-7 spokesman Eddie Llamedo said they completed the assessment and delineation of boundaries between forestlands, national parks and agricultural lands in Central Visayas early this year.
The region’s forest landscape totaled 8,838.355 kilometers of which Cebu has 36 percent or 3,184.83 kilometers.
“We would be able to delineate which areas are for strict or protected zones or production zones,” said Eddie Llamedo, DENR-7 spokesperson.
The Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL) has a land area of 29,062 hectares, which will be de-zoned into strict or protected zone and multiple-used zones.
Llamedo said no economic activities will be done in the protected zone, where endemic trees like the Cebu cinnamon tree and many animal species thrive.
The delineation was conducted by the Regional Assessment and Delineation Teams (RADT) and Land Evaluation Party (LEP) that were organized last 2008.
DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Maximo O. Dichoso said delineation consists of site investigation, field reconnaissance and assessment and staking boundaries between forestlands, national parks and agricultural lands.
“The delineation is necessary to strengthen our environmental protection initiatives on protected areas and national parks against degradation or exploitation through support and cooperation of stakeholders,” Dichoso said.
Concerns on de-zoning the CCPL arose when tenured migrants began to sell lots based on tax declarations and built infrastructure even on protected areas.
DENR-7 said the migrants have no right to sell the lots, and that protected areas should be developed as forests. Establishments can be built in the multi-use zone.
The CCPL covers five watersheds: the Buhisan Watershed Forest Reserve, Mananga Watershed Forest Reserve, Sudlon National Park, Central Cebu National Park and the Kotkot-Lusaran Watershed Forest Reserve.
The Kotkot-Lusaran watershed is located in the cities of Cebu, Talisay, Toledo and Danao, and in the towns of Minglanilla, Consolacion, Liloan, Compostela, and Balamban. Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya