The National Coastal Greenbelt Act
Protect our Coasts, Protect our Future
.png)
Coastal Greenbelts
Strip of natural or artificially created coastal vegetation including mangrove and beach forests stretching to our coasts.
It is a measure to prevent coastal erosion and reduce natural hazards by planting trees and creating forests along the coasts, aimed at protecting life, property, and embankments from tidal surges and other environmental impacts.
Salient Features of the NCG Act
🛡️ It creates the National Coastal Greenbelt Program. This is the country's official plan to use nature to fight storms, sea level rise, and coastal erosion.
🌊 The bill requires replanting a 100 meter wide strip of mangroves and beach forest along our vulnerable coastlines.
📋DENR needs to come up with the National Coastal Greenbelt Action Plan (NCGAP) within a year. The actual roadmap for how the rehab and reforestation gets done nationwide.
♻️ Abandoned or underused fishponds get converted back to mangroves. This matters a lot because a huge chunk of our lost mangrove cover over the decades came from fishpond conversion in the first place.
🤝A National Coordinating Council brings together DENR, the Climate Change Commission, DA, DILG, NDRRMC, LGUs, NGOs, academe, fisherfolk, and the private sector.
🏘️ Local governments can create their own Local Coastal Greenbelt Action Plans (LCGAPs). Your city or municipality gets to localize the program.
💰 Money comes from the national budget, LGU budgets, grants, and government financial institutions.
⚖️ Violators face fines and penalties, and illegal structures built inside greenbelt zones can be ordered removed.
The National Coastal Greenbelt Act aims to protect and restore the Philippines' mangrove and beach forests that will nurture marine biodiversity, support and protect coastal communities, and mitigate global warming.
