Marikina forest expands by 400 hectares

The forest cover of the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL) has significantly increased by 400 hectares from 2010 to 2020, a Department of Environment and Natural Resources official reported.

DENR CALABARZON Regional Executive Director Nilo Tamoria said UMRBPL’sforest is now 44.37 percent bigger because of the continuous implementation of the National Greening Program (NGP) in the 26,000-hectare Protected Area.

Ten years ago, the UMRBPL was established as a Protected Area by virtue of Proclamation 296 handed down of the late President Benigno Simeon Aquino III in response to the public clamor for the rehabilitation of the Marikina watershed following recent widespread flooding in Metro Manila.

Citing comparison maps released by the DENR Calabarzon in partnership with the National Mapping and Resources Information Authority (NAMRIA), the UMRBPL’s forest cover grew from 6,118.75 hectares in 2010 to 6,528.38 hectares in 2020.

“This debunks allegations that the DENR is remiss in its duties to rehabilitate the Marikina Watershed and this also means that the NGP is effectively bringing back our forests,” Tamoria said.

He added that the forest cover of the UMRBPL is denser now and is more ecologically valuable forest habitat compared to a decade ago.

“We have seen a remarkable increase in closed forest areas while open forest areas decreased substantially,” Tamoria said.

Tamoria said that based on NAMRIA’s updated comprehensive mapping on land classification and resource information, the NGP is effectively working in the UMRBPL.

The UMRBPL became a Protected Area almost simultaneously with the start of the NGP by virtue of Executive Order 26 s. 2011 handed down by Aquino.

At that time, Aquino also issued Executive Order 23 which prohibits harvesting of trees in natural forest, effectively putting in place a commercial logging ban of indigenous trees or areas outside tree plantations.

Aquino signed Proclamation 296 on September 26, 2011, two years after the onslaught of Tropical Depression Ondoy, which brought massive flooding in Metro Manila as well as Central Luzon and up to Pangasinan.

The protected landscape was further enhanced with the signing of Republic Act 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (Enipas) in 2018.