Integration of existing trees in development plans pushed

CEBU, Philippines — To address growing concerns over deforestation in Cebu City, Councilor Joel Garganera is pushing for legislative measures that will require developers to integrate existing trees into their site development plans.

In a statement to The Freeman, Garganera, who chairs the City Council’s Committee on Environment, recalled that last year, the Cebu City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) raised alarms over deforestation in the city due to various causes, including climate change and the El Niño phenomenon.

He also cited the construction of illegal structures within the Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL), allegedly done without the city’s knowledge, as another contributing factor.

To address these issues, Garganera said the CPDO—through Architect Yumi Espina, Architect Annie Cuizon, and the rest of the head staff—fast-tracked the final submission of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP). The CLUP, he said, clearly identifies and regulates areas within the CCPL where infrastructure development should not be permitted.

“This allows us [a] better enforcement mechanism on this matter, though the main responsibility to enforce it should have been with the CCPL Board,” Garganera said.

He added that the CLUP also contains a section on climate change adaptation aimed at reducing carbon emissions, making the document a key component in the fight against further deforestation.

Within the City Council, Garganera said they are now strictly regulating tree-cutting applications. As chair of the environment committee, he has been lobbying for measures to reinforce tree protection in Cebu City.

With the current council down to its final session before the new administration assumes office, Garganera said they are set to tackle a proposed amendment to the existing ordinance that would mandate developers to integrate existing trees into their site development plans.

“We will also further look into how we can support the issues we encountered in the CCPL,” he said.

The amendatory measure is titled “An Ordinance Amending Section 7 and Section 20 of City Ordinance 2623, also known as the ‘Earth-Balling, Cutting, and Removal of Trees Ordinance of Cebu.’”

The proposed amendment to Section 7 states that in applications involving the removal of more than ten trees for a development project, the applicant must make all efforts to integrate the trees into the site plan and minimize the number to be cut.

It also requires that the site development plan be submitted to the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO) as part of the application process.

Meanwhile, the amendment to Section 3 would make it unlawful for any individual, corporation, or developer to cut, remove, or earth-ball trees in a manner inconsistent with the approved site plan.

Since the deforestation concerns were raised last year, Garganera admitted that improvements have so far been minimal.

“But as for the city, I think it helps na we didn’t have El Niño this year but we have a long way to go,” said Garganera.

He nonetheless commended Cebu City Mayor-elect Nestor Archival’s pronouncement to plant 250,000 trees over the next few years—symbolic of the number of votes he garnered in the recently concluded elections. Garganera said the CCENRO has more than enough seedlings to support the initiative. (CEBU NEWS)