QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 7586)
The law declares the State’s policy to secure the perpetual existence of native plants and animals for present and future generations through a comprehensive system of integrated protected areas within the constitutional classification of national parks, consistent with biological diversity and sustainable development.
It refers to identified portions of land and water set aside due to their unique physical and biological significance, managed to enhance biological diversity and protected against destructive human exploitation.
Strict nature reserve; Natural park; Natural monument; Wildlife sanctuary; Protected landscapes and seascapes; Resource reserve; Natural biotic areas; and other categories established by law, conventions, or international agreements to which the Philippines is a signatory.
Buffer zones are areas outside the boundaries of and immediately adjacent to designated protected areas that need special development control to avoid or minimize harm to the protected area.
All areas or islands proclaimed, designated, or set aside as national parks, game refuges, bird and wildlife sanctuaries, wilderness areas, strict nature reserves, watersheds, mangrove reserves, fish sanctuaries, natural and historical landmarks, and protected/managed landscapes/seascapes, as well as identified virgin forests before the effectivity of the Act.
Within one (1) year from effectivity, DENR must submit to Congress a map and legal description (or natural boundaries) of each initially designated protected area; these become the official documentary representation of the entire system, subject to changes by Congress.
DENR must conduct, at minimum: a forest occupants survey; an ethnographic study; a protected area resource profile; land use plans in coordination with the Regional Development Councils; and other background studies sufficient for selection.
DENR must notify the public through newspaper publication and other necessary means at least 30 days before the public hearing; conduct public hearings nearest the affected area; advise relevant LGUs, agencies, people’s organizations, and NGOs at least 30 days prior and invite submissions no later than 30 days after the hearing; and give due consideration to recommendations, with sufficient explanation if recommendations are contrary to sentiments expressed.
After DENR recommendations, the President issues a proclamation designating recommended areas as protected areas and providing measures for protection until Congress enacts a law finally declaring the recommended areas as part of the NIPAS system.
When DENR opines that a protected area should be withdrawn/disestablished or boundaries modified (as warranted by a study and sanctioned by the majority of members of the respective Protected Area Management Board), DENR advises Congress; disestablishment/modification takes effect pursuant to an act of Congress, after which the area reverts to the category of public forest unless otherwise classified by Congress.
There must be a general management planning strategy guiding individual plans; each component must be planned to enhance permanent preservation of natural conditions. A management manual must be formulated and developed, containing: an individual management plan prepared by three (3) experts; basic background information; field inventory; assessment of assets and limitations; regional interrelationships; objectives; division into management zones; review of boundaries; and design of management programs.
Each established protected area has a PAMB composed of: the Regional Executive Director (RED) as chairman (per RED provisions); representative from the autonomous regional government if applicable; Provincial Development Officer; municipal representative; barangay representatives; tribal community representative if applicable; at least three NGO/local community organization representatives; and potentially other national agency representatives. The Board decides allocations, approves funding proposals, and matters on planning/peripheral protection/general administration by majority vote.
They must undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment as required by law, and no actual implementation is allowed without the required Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC). If allowed, the proponent must plan to minimize adverse effects and take preventive/remedial actions, and the proponent is liable for damage due to lack of caution or indiscretion.
It recognizes ancestral lands and customary rights and interest. DENR must prescribe rules for ancestral lands within protected areas, but DENR has no power to evict indigenous communities from present occupancy nor resettle them to another area without their consent; all rules and regulations affecting these communities must be subjected to notice and hearing with participation by concerned community members.
Protected areas (except strict nature reserves and natural parks) may be subjected to exploration only for gathering information on energy resources, carried out with least damage to surrounding areas, and only in accordance with a DENR-approved program. Any exploitation/utilization found within NIPAS areas is allowed only through a law passed by Congress.
Among others: hunting or destroying/disturbing or mere possession of plants/animals/products without a Management Board permit; dumping harmful waste; using motorized equipment without a permit; mutilating/defacing/destroying natural beauty or culturally significant objects; damaging/leaving roads and trails in damaged condition; squatting/mineral locating/occupying land; constructing/maintaining structures/fences/enclosures or business enterprise without a permit; leaving exposed or unsanitary refuse or depositing waste in ground or water; altering/removing/destroying/defacing boundary marks or signs.
Violators may be fined not less than P5,000 nor more than P500,000 (exclusive of the value of the thing damaged) and/or imprisoned for not less than one (1) year nor more than six (6) years, as determined by the court. The court may require restoration/compensation if rehabilitation is needed; order eviction of the offender from the land; and order forfeiture in favor of the Government of minerals, timber, species collected/removed (and equipment/devices/firearms used) plus any construction/improvement made by the offender. The DENR may also impose administrative fines and penalties consistent with the Act.