Rañola launches Jagna

Forest Land Use Plan

JAGNA, Bohol (PIA)—A few days before he bows out of service to his constituents in Jagna following a stellar two-terms, mayor Joseph Rañola, along with local officials launched the Forest Land Use Plan, a task many local government units failed to do.

Rañola, who opted out of service following two terms of changing Jagna’s skyline with key infrastructure, fiscal reforms and smart implementation of plans said apart from the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), of which its updating is now half complete, “the FLUP is also an essential tool for the effective and holistic management of Jagna’s forest resources.”

Of the town’s 9,558.76 hectares, about 1,046.91 hectares are declared as forestlands or timber lands, and another 1,991.37 are protected areas.

With forestlands keeping as strategic economic importance in sustaining the ecological balance, the same has also been a source of livelihood for communities.

A huge source of water, the forests here are also excellent areas for nature based tourism with the country’s second deepest cave, spectacular water falls, highlands ideal for trekking and hiking, thus a need for guided development for sustainability and to prevent abuse of these natural resources.

He stressed that while the national government is mandated by law to administer the forests lands, the LGU through an agreement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), crafted the FLUP as a tool to help communities implement the plan and manage its forest resources within its jurisdiction.

“The main intension of the FLUP is to determine the most appropriate uses of the forest lands, and maximize the LGU participation in managing these areas,” the mayor explained to a modest group of media and supporters during the simple launch inside the new Mayor’s Office in Jagna.

The FLUP also necessitated the creation of the Forest Land Management Steering Committee to serve as the policy and decision making body for the management and regulation of forest and water resources in town.

A task many local government units could not yet complete due to several factors including the lack of technical expertise, crafting the FLUP is the initial step in institutionalizing management tools for the forest resources.

“The FLUP is made for the purpose of managing properly and allocating the forest lands for the benefit of various stakeholders with the ultimate goal of integrating this to the CLUP in a way that will help in providing the technical framework for land use zoning and issuance of zoning ordinances in line with the holistic integrated ecosystems management,” the mayor said. (PIABohol)

LEGISLATIVE LEGACY. Mayor Joseph Rañola presents to the media the published FLUP of the town, a tool to guide the communities in the sustainable management of the forest resources especially when about 1/3 of the town is either protected by law or is a timberland. (PIABohol)