PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Feb. 13 (PNA) -– A consultation workshop of the Generation of Data on Forest Land was concluded Wednesday in this city as part of the project “Generation of Data on Upland/Forestland Population.”
The said project is within the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Forest Management Bureau (DENR-FMB) and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) in cooperation with the National Statistics Office (NSO).
The consultation workshop aims to provide correct data to local government units (LGUs) on what is forestland, or the forest that is owned by the state.
The data can help the LGUs in creating applicable policies and principles, and programs to obtain the sustainable management of the province’s forest lands.
Currently, 80% of 80 provinces in the country have reportedly conducted their first consultation workshops in 2013, such as South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Saranggani, Davao Oriental, Basilan, Zamboanga Sibugay, Agusan Del Norte and northern Palawan.
Engineer Rosalyo Sontanilla, the remote sensing technologist of NAMRIA, said the data that can be gathered from the consultation workshop can help LGUs such as knowing a town’s population, determination of lands that are owned by the state, and preparation against natural calamities.
He added that the result of the consultation, once collated, can be presented to Governor Jose Alvarez, which may use these to further forward his IHELP. (PNA)