‘Environment Rehabilitation and Conservation Network Ordinance’ to be implemented soon

THE Environment Rehabilitation and Conservation Network ordinance will be implemented soon. This, as the 20th City Council during its regular session presided over by City Vice Mayor Bebot Rodriguez passed a resolution prescribing the Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) of Ordinance No. 13682-2019, “An ordinance providing for the promotion of Environment Rehabilitation and Conservation Network, creating the Ecological Services and Protection Committee (ESPC).”

In his letter to the legislative body, City Mayor Rolando A. Uy said that the ordinance aims to promote the conservation and rehabilitation of the environment by establishing ESPC and the technical working group.

Under the IRR, the specific site to be selected for the project will be the identified high-risk areas (HRAs) in the city, recorded with corresponding maps in the Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP). The HRAs will be given priority as targets for restoration. The LCCAP contains maps showing high to very high vulnerability categories to landslides.

While HRAs will be given priority in the restoration project, proposals from the barangays and other National Government Organizations (NGOs) will be welcomed and thoroughly studied by the TWG and ESPC for approval in other conservation projects provided in the said IRR.

Upon acceptance of the proposals, the City Local Environment and Natural Resources (CLENRO) will coordinate with the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), Department of Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-10) through the surveys and mapping division, and the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), and the concerned barangay to conduct mapping and delineation of the identified target restoration areas that passed the selection criteria.