Marcos discusses with Cabinet new office on forestry mapping
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. discussed with some Cabinet members the creation of a new office in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that will identify priority areas for reforestation.
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Photo courtesy of Yummie Dingding/PPA Pool)
Marcos presided over the sectoral meeting in Malacañang on Tuesday, June 27, to ask updates on the ongoing establishment of the National Natural Resource Geospatial Database Office. Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said they were asked by the President to present updates on the new office which was organized after her first meeting with the President as Environment chief. She said in that maiden meeting with the President she suggested to him that "it would be essential to manage our natural resources through establishing a physical baseline" in terms of the country's natural resources in order for them to be accounted for, valued properly, and be managed properly. According to Loyzaga, the "very small office" has been established with 10 personnel. "[S]a ngayon po (As of now), it is a very small office. We were able to establish it without any additional budget, by just making use of the resources na nandidiyan na po (that is already available) inside the DENR for that fiscal year," Loyzaga said. "And we’re looking, of course, to build more capacity ‘no to actually acquire the satellite imageries that we need and the kind of processing software that we need in order to continue the work," she added. The DENR chief said the geospatial database will use satellite imagery and other tools for surveillance and mapping of natural resources in terms of forestry, mining, waters and lands. Malacañang said the establishment of a geospatial database promotes the development of strategies for a science-based, risk-informed, ethical and equitable protection of the environment and natural resources. This will also help in identifying areas in need of environmental protection and development such as reforestation, watershed management and mining policies, among others. Officials from the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, Department of Budget and Management, among others were also present during the weekly sectoral meeting.
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Photo courtesy of Yummie Dingding/PPA Pool)
Marcos presided over the sectoral meeting in Malacañang on Tuesday, June 27, to ask updates on the ongoing establishment of the National Natural Resource Geospatial Database Office. Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said they were asked by the President to present updates on the new office which was organized after her first meeting with the President as Environment chief. She said in that maiden meeting with the President she suggested to him that "it would be essential to manage our natural resources through establishing a physical baseline" in terms of the country's natural resources in order for them to be accounted for, valued properly, and be managed properly. According to Loyzaga, the "very small office" has been established with 10 personnel. "[S]a ngayon po (As of now), it is a very small office. We were able to establish it without any additional budget, by just making use of the resources na nandidiyan na po (that is already available) inside the DENR for that fiscal year," Loyzaga said. "And we’re looking, of course, to build more capacity ‘no to actually acquire the satellite imageries that we need and the kind of processing software that we need in order to continue the work," she added. The DENR chief said the geospatial database will use satellite imagery and other tools for surveillance and mapping of natural resources in terms of forestry, mining, waters and lands. Malacañang said the establishment of a geospatial database promotes the development of strategies for a science-based, risk-informed, ethical and equitable protection of the environment and natural resources. This will also help in identifying areas in need of environmental protection and development such as reforestation, watershed management and mining policies, among others. Officials from the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, Department of Budget and Management, among others were also present during the weekly sectoral meeting.