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DENR, PEZA to identify public lands for ecozone conversion
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The Philippine Economic Zone Authority and Department of Environment and Natural Resources signed an MOU to tag public lands that can be converted into agro-industrial, agro-forestry, mineral processing, and eco-tourism economic zones
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Under the MOU, DENR will identify viable public lands in its jurisdiction that can be proposed for presidential proclamation as an ecozone
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CARAGA region will be the pilot area, where seven potential ecozones have already been identified
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Separate agreements covering specific areas to developed into special ecozones will be signed by PEZA and DENR
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) signed a memorandum of understanding to identify public lands for ecozone conversion.
Signed on May 31, the MOU expressed both agencies’ intention to cooperate in identifying viable public lands in DENR’s jurisdiction that can be proposed for presidential proclamation as an ecozone, with the CARAGA region as the pilot area.
“This MOU signing will serve as an initial and broad framework of understanding between PEZA and the DENR towards the goal of identifying public lands nationwide that can be harnessed in a sustainable and environmentally compliant manner to spread ecozones because they are drivers of economic growth outside the National Capital Region (NCR),” PEZA director general Charito Plaza said in a statement.
Plaza said one of the goals with CARAGA being the pilot area is to restore the wood industry in the region, considered the leading timber producer in the country.
Under the MOU, DENR agrees to provide an inventory of public lands and islands under its jurisdiction to PEZA in order to explore development of sustainable mineral and agro-forestry processing economic zones, oil depots, refinery ecozones, eco-tourism, agro-industrial special economic zones.
“This comes with a great advantage as it will help minimize the impact of the dramatic increase in oil price and at the same time guard against supply chain disruption and completing the supply chain,” Plaza said.
DENR will also provide technical assistance to PEZA in the formulation of proposals, which will include the adoption of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement approach for the identified special ecozones.
Further, PEZA and DENR may constitute a technical working group that will study, formulate, and recommend policies that will be adopted and observed by both agencies in implementing the MOU.
Separate agreements covering specific areas to become special ecozones will be signed by PEZA and DENR.
At a press conference after the MOU signing, DENR assistant secretary for legal affairs Michelle Angelica Go said a PEZA-DENR memorandum of agreement will be drafted soon for signing before June 30 for the pilot area of CARAGA.
Go said CARAGA’s development goals encourage investments in fisheries, agri-forestry, mining, and ecotourism and that DENR is already at an advanced stage of identifying potential seven ecozones in the region.
