Definitions and key terms
- “Ancestral domain/ancestral lands” covers ICCs/IPs’ areas generally belonging to them, subject to property or prior rights vested upon the effectivity of Republic Act No. 8371 (IPRA), including lands, inland waters, and natural resources, held under ownership claims, occupied or possessed by ICCs/IPs themselves or by their ancestors, communally or individually since time immemorial, continuously to the present (with specified interruptions), and including ancestral lands, forests, pasture, residential, agricultural, and other lands, hunting grounds, burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water, mineral and other natural resources, and lands used for subsistence and traditional activities (Section 3).
- “Biodiversity” means the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complex in which they occur (Section 3).
- “Buffer zones” are areas outside the boundaries of designated protected areas that are immediately adjacent and need special development and control to provide an extra protection layer, managed according to the management plan and applicable rules and regulations issued under this Act and related statutes (Section 3).
- “By-products” covers any part taken from wild species and its derivatives, including hides, antlers, feathers, fur, teeth, claws, internal organs, eggs, roots, trunk, branches, leaves, stems, flowers, bark, and derivatives such as blood, oils, resin, gum, seed, spores, pollen, honey, and beeswax (Section 3).
- “Collection or collecting” is gathering or harvesting wild flora and fauna species and their by-products or derivatives (Section 3).
- “Commercial facilities” means business conducted by natural or artificial persons to secure an economic or resource surplus not needed for immediate subsistence (Section 3).
- “Conservation” means optimum utilization and management of natural resources to meet needs and aspirations of present and future generations (Section 3).
- “Ecosystem” is the community of plants and animals, their physical environment, and interactions between them (Section 3).
- “Environmental Impact Assessment” refers to the EIA System established under Presidential Decree No. 1586 or supervening legislation (Section 3).
- “Exotic species” are species or subspecies that do not naturally occur within the country or the biogeographic region where the protected area is situated (Section 3).
- “Fish/aquatic animals/products” includes fishes and aquatic animals (crustaceans, echinoderms, marine animals) and all products of aquatic living resources in any form (Section 3).
- “Fishing” is taking fish, aquatic products, or any aquatic flora and fauna from their wild habitat, with or without fishing vessels (Section 3).
- “Forest products” includes timber and related forest resources and includes associated water, fish, game, scenic, historical, recreational, and geologic resources in forest lands (Section 3).
- “Indigenous Cultural Communities” refers to ICCs/IPs under the IPRA; for Mt. Apo, the ICCs/IPs are composed of the Bagobo and its sub-tribes: Ubo, Jangan, and Tagabawa/Bawa (Section 3).
- “Legitimate private rights” are vested prior rights acquired under existing laws without taint of deceit, stealth, fraud, or bad faith (Section 3).
- “Management Plan” is the fundamental plan/strategy/scheme guiding all activities related to the Mt. Apo Natural Park to attain the objectives of Section 2 (Section 3).
- “Non-government organizations” are nonstock, nonprofit organizations qualified and engaged in community organizing/development or resource and environmental conservation/management/protection activities related to the protected area (Section 3).
- “People’s organization” is a group with an identifiable structure of decision-making and accountability established for collective action addressing community concerns and needs in relation to the protected area (Section 3).
- “Protected area” refers to identified portions of land and water set aside for unique physical and biological significance, managed to enhance biological diversity and protected against destructive human exploitation (Section 3).
- “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) (Section 3).
- “Stakeholders” includes individuals, communities, organizations, or sectors with particular interest or dependence/access/utilization of resources within the protected area, including LGUs, people’s organizations, NGOs, ICCs/IPs, DENR, and other concerned government agencies (Section 3).
- “Sustainability or sustainable” means use of components of biological diversity at a rate not leading to decline, maintaining potential to meet needs of present and future Filipino generations (Section 3).
- “Tenured migrants” are individuals and households who have actually and continuously occupied public lands not alienable and disposable within the protected area before June 1, 1987 and are substantially dependent on the protected area for livelihood (Section 3).
- “Timber” means wood having average diameter of at least fifteen (15) centimeters and length of at least one and a half (1.5) meter in unaltered state, or wood regardless of size, sawn or hewn on two or more sides, usually referred to as flitch and all mangrove (Section 3).
Geographic coverage and protected-area boundaries
- The Mt. Apo Natural Park covers parcels of land in:
- Magpet and Makilala and City of Kidapawan, Province of Cotabato;
- Bansalan and Sta. Cruz and City of Digos, Province of Davao del Sur; and
- City of Davao (Section 4).
- The Mt. Apo Natural Park area is 549,744,724.32 square meters, more or less, subject to ground demarcation (Section 4).
- The Park boundaries are fixed by the detailed corner line bearings, distances, and corner monuments referenced in Section 4.
- A geothermal-reservation parcel containing seven million ten thousand (7,010,000.00) sq. m. declared under the jurisdiction of PNOC by virtue of prior vested rights under Proclamation No. 853 of January 30, 1992 (in conjunction with Executive Order No. 223) is excluded from the Park (Section 4).
- PNOC must assist in protection and management of Mt. Apo Natural Park through direct assistance in reforestation and other preservation activities in the Park that may be identified, in line with PNOC’s environmental and watershed management program (Section 4).
- The PNOC geothermal reservation automatically reverts and forms part of the Park upon cessation of PNOC operations in the excluded area (Section 4).
- Plans and activities of the PNOC geothermal project related to support facilities, back-up or new transmission lines, stabilizing and power-enhancing substations, and other auxiliary support facilities vital to Mindanao’s environmental sustainability and energy security are allowed within designated buffer zones, subject to approval of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) and appropriate government agencies, aligned with the national mandate on development of indigenous sources of energy (Section 4).
Buffer zones establishment and limits
- The Act establishes buffer zones of the Mt. Apo Natural Park through the framework of Section 8 of the NIPAS Act to provide an additional peripheral layer of protection with regulated benefits and livelihood opportunities for local communities (Section 5).
- The buffer-zone boundaries are subject to ground demarcation and are defined in Section 5.
- Buffer Zone, Parcel 1 consists of 25,357,266.07 square meters, more or less, beginning at a point marked “1” on the map and on the ground identical to point 45 of Mt. Apo Natural Park, and is delineated through the corner bearings and monuments enumerated in Section 5 (Section 5).
- Buffer Zone, Parcel 2 consists of 65,423,921.15 square meters, more or less, beginning at a point marked “1” on the map and on the ground identical to point 79 of the Mt. Apo Natural Park, and is delineated through the corner bearings and monuments enumerated in Section 5 (Section 5).
- A portion of land immediately adjacent to the PNOC Reservation Area outside the protected area and within the boundary of buffer zone parcel (2) is designated as an energy support zone for the sustenance of the existing geothermal installation to ensure power security in the region (Section 5).
- The boundary limits of the energy support zone are determined by PAMB through ground delineation, and the energy support zone becomes part of the park’s land use zoning for the protected area and its buffer zones (Section 5).
- Uses within the energy support zone compatible with geothermal energy are allowed (Section 5).
- Permits for geothermal activities within the energy support zone must be secured under relevant forestry and environmental regulations (Section 5).
- Geothermal exploration within the energy support zone to increase power capacity of the existing project is allowed only through a law passed by Congress (Section 5).
- Areas within the energy support zone not used directly for the development and utilization of geothermal energy remain under the control and jurisdiction of PAMB (Section 5).
Management plan creation, review, and revision
- A Management Plan must be prepared within one (1) year from the Act’s effectivity and consistent with the General Management Planning Strategy under the NIPAS Act (Section 6).
- The Management Plan is prepared by the Office of the Protected Area Superintendent (PASu) in coordination with:
- local communities,
- indigenous cultural communities/indigenous peoples,
- LGUs,
- appropriate DENR offices,
- non-government and people’s organizations,
- existing operators in the park, and
- experts with socioeconomic, anthropological and ecological experience (Section 6).
- The Management Plan must include, among others:
- a period of applicability, preferably at least fifteen (15) years;
- key management issues;
- goals and objectives supporting Section 2;
- site management strategy;
- major management activities such as enforcement of laws; biodiversity conservation and habitat and wildlife management; sustainable use management; infrastructure development and maintenance; and fire and pest control; and
- establishment and delineation of zones and the regulated and/or prohibited activities in them (including multipurpose use zones, buffer zones, recreational zones, strict protection zones, and other special zones) and zoning guidance on avoiding relocation with traditional zones accorded primary consideration when proven sustainable and consonant with biodiversity and protection of natural characteristics;
- visitor management programs (Section 6).
- Because Mt. Apo is a protected area under the category of a natural park, the Management Plan must be consistent with that nature (Section 6).
- The PAMB must review and approve the Management Plan, and the Secretary must certify that it conforms to all DENR laws and regulations (Section 6).
- The Management Plan must not be revised or modified except through prior consultation with PAMB and under the procedure set forth in Section 6 (Section 6).
- When any part or section is inconsistent with existing laws, the Secretary certifies to other provisions that are consistent with the laws (Section 6).
- If the Secretary does not accept or adopt inconsistent provisions, the Secretary must notify the PAMB of the provisions needing modification or revision (Section 6).
- A subsequent Management Plan must be prepared and submitted two (2) years before expiration of the initial Management Plan, using the same procedure and principles and under the NIPAS planning strategy (Section 6).
- In that two-year period, PASu must cause publication of notices for comments and suggestions in a newspaper of local circulation and actual posting in conspicuous places within the LGUs in the Mt. Apo Natural Park (Section 6).
- The proposed new Management Plan must be available for public perusal in all agencies, offices, and organizations duly represented in the PAMB (Section 6).
- If no subsequent plan is adopted upon expiration of the initial Management Plan, the initial Management Plan remains in force subject to interim modifications adopted by PAMB (Section 6).
Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) structure
- There is a Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) that serves as the highest policy-making body of the Mt. Apo Natural Park (Section 7).
- The PAMB is chaired by the Regional Executive Director (RED) of DENR Region XI (Section 7).
- The RED of DENR Region XII sits or designates a permanent representative (Section 7).
- The provincial governors of North Cotabato and Davao del Sur sit or designate authorized permanent representatives (Section 7).
- The Planning and Development Officers of Davao City and the provinces of Cotabato and Davao del Sur sit or designate authorized permanent representatives (Section 7).
- The municipal/city mayors of Magpet, Makilala, Kidapawan, Bansalan, Sta. Cruz, Digos, and Davao City sit or designate authorized permanent representatives (Section 7).
- All barangay captains within the Mt. Apo Natural Park sit as members (Section 7).
- The PAMB includes three (3) representatives from ICCs/IPs, composed of one (1) representative from each of the three (3) sub-tribes (Jangan, Ubo and Tagabawa) in Mt. Apo, and the ICC/IP seats may increase upon determination of other sub-tribes based on an ethnographic study to be conducted by an independent institution or academe and validated by the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) (Section 7).
- The PAMB includes a maximum of eight (8) representatives from people’s organizations (POs) and non-government organizations (NGOs) (Section 7).
- The PAMB includes representatives from national government agencies operating within the protected area that can potentially contribute to protected area management (Section 7).
- The PAMB includes other stakeholders that can assist and contribute to the protection, preservation, and conservation of Mt. Apo (Section 7).