RDC XI Special Committees Tackle Land Use and Sustainable Development Issues of Barangay Kapatagan
The Regional Land Use Committee (RLUC) and the Regional Committee on Sustainable Development (RCSD), two special committees of the Regional Development Council (RDC) XI, discussed critical land use and sustainable development issues pertaining to Barangay Kapatagan, Digos City, Davao del Sur during its 4th joint meeting held Thursday, September 11, 2008, at the Grand Regal Hotel, Davao City.
RLUC XI Chair Director Nicasio Angelo J. Agustin of NEDA XI disclosed that the two committees directed concerned agencies to continue pursuing recommendations for the restoration and ecological preservation of Barangay Kapatagan. Director Agustin said that these recommendations were endorsed by Task Force Kapatagan, an ad hoc body created by RLUC and RCSD to address the adverse impact of the establishment of agricultural plantations and the growing expansion of other economic activities on the barangay’s immediate environment. Barangay Kapatagan is within the Mt. Apo Natural Park, a protected area.
Director Agustin said that in their updates to the joint body DENR informed that it has allotted around P 2.6 million for the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) to improve their capability for the management of the Mt. Apo Natural Park. In addition, DENR disclosed that it will spearhead a workshop for stakeholders of Kapatagan, such as the local governments of Digos City and the municipalities of Bansalan and Sta. Cruz, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) holders to harmonize their respective management plans for Mt. Apo.
The concerned LGUs have also undertaken their own measures to prevent the deterioration of Kapatagan’s environment. Digos City conducted an information campaign to restrict the establishment of settlements in Kapatagan in multiple-use zones only, the practice of waste recycling and composting, and controlled use of chemicals by agricultural plantations. It has also signed a memorandum of agreement with HEDCOR, Inc., a private power firm, for the establishment of a 1,000-hectare agro-forestry project in the outskirts of the protected area. Sta. Cruz has also strictly adhered to the regulations of PAMB in the management of Mt. Apo and incorporated the PAMB Management Plan in its land use plan. Bansalan is in the process of formulating its forest land use plan and integrated in the development plans of its barangays the establishment of tree parks, forest trees in restoration zones and riverbanks. It has also prevented the establishment of a banana plantation in Barangay Darapuay
Director Agustin said that the discussion of issues pertaining to the land use and sustainable development of Kapatagan is particularly relevant at this time in the light of the tragedy that struck barangay Masara of the municipality of Maco, Compostela Valley. He added that concerned authorities have not been remiss in warning the communities in barangay Masara about the susceptibility of the upper slopes to erosion but these warning have remained unheeded. He stressed that it is not enough for policy making bodies, such as the RLUC and RCSD, to recommend policies; more importantly, these bodies should ensure that their recommended policies are properly implemented.
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