Two researchers urge govt to craft natl land-use policy

SATURDAY, 21 MAY 2011 17:23 RIZAL RAOUL REYES / CORRESPONDENT

TWO researches belonging to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) are urging the government to craft a national land-use policy aimed at arresting undue pressure on the country’s land resources.

Researchers Gilberto Llanto and Marife Ballesteros pointed out in their paper “Unclear and Inconsistent Land Policy Land Issues in Poverty Reduction Strategies and the Development Agenda” that “unprecedented urbanization in the country has put tremendous pressure on land resources and the absence of a land-use policy underscores land conversion disputes and other land-related problems.”

Llanto and Ballesteros noted that tension emerged between interested parties lobbying for agricultural landowners and real-estate developers as a result of rapid urbanization.

Llanto and Ballesteros pointed out numerous weaknesses in land-use policy. They said administration and management have a big impact on the efficiency of the land markets in the country. Among the weaknesses noted by the two researchers were: unclear and inconsistent land policies; inefficient land administration infrastructure; highly politicized land tax system; inefficient agrarian reform program; and inefficient housing development program.

Another weakness of Philippine land policy is the failure to clearly identify society’s preferences regarding land use, according to Llanto and Ballesteros. Although government leaders are aware of the importance of efficient land use, Llanto and Ballesteros acknowledged the “political economy of establishing social preferences” on land use is the problematic part.

Without a clear and consistent land-use policy, Llanto and Ballesteros said the government is in a dilemma on how to support agriculture advocates over urban developers as the occasion requires, and during other times, support sectors that demand land for housing, business and other nonagricultural uses.

“In particular, there is a need to evaluate very closely the impact of agrarian reform on land markets and on economic growth, review its implementation to solve bottlenecks and avoid further deadweight loss burden on the economy,” said Llanto and Ballesteros.

They said there is a need for the establishment of an integrated land information system for efficient land administration and management to process the vast data generated from land classification, geodetic controls, land use, cadastral surveys, land titling, land registration, and from various administrative, legal and fiscal aspects of land. Specifically, this would require the conduct of a national benchmarking activity and the establishment of a unified database.

Moreover, Llanto and Ballesteros said the following priority measures need to be undertaken:

· Completion of cadastral survey of the entire country and use of cadastral maps as bases for land use and physical planning, tax mapping, and other activities;

· Identification and delineation of forest land that can be used for agricultural expansion and activities, and non-agricultural activities, particularly that of housing, tourism, industry and other settlement expansion areas.

· Identification and delineation of existing and potential agricultural production areas, based on regional supply and demand requirements and productivity trends, and subsequent protection of such areas from conversion and identification and provision of necessary support infrastructure, facilities and services

· Mapping of the boundaries of protected areas, including disaster, hazard, and risk-prone areas, and establishing a database for such areas with appropriate development limits and specifications.

Christopher de la Cruz, principal architect of the Ekotektonika, said the Philippine construction industry responded to the call of sustainable construction when the Philippine Green Building Council (PHILGBC) launched the Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence Program (Berde) in November 2010.

De la Cruz said the launching of Berde is quite important because there is a need for the country to develop its own rating system to determine so building owners, engineers and contractors can follow a standard that adheres to green construction practices.

PHILGBC is a nationwide-based nonprofit organization that promotes the sharing of knowledge on green practices to the property industry to ensure a sustainable environment. Furthermore, the council is an alliance of building and construction industry leaders from both the public and private sectors that will act as the nonpartisan venue to develop a nationally accepted and recognized green building rating standard.

De la Cruz said it is imperative for the Philippines to have its own because the conditions here are quite different from other countries.

“We have different perspectives such as the weather condition and local standard will be a perfect fit for that,” he said.

Economically speaking, de la Cruz said implementing Berde would be an advantage because this will be 20 percent to 40 percent cheaper than the foreign standards.

Other countries which have their own building rating standards are the United Kingdom (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), Hong Kong (Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method), Japan (Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency), Australia (Green Star), Singapore (Green Mark), Malaysia (Green Building Index), Canada (SBTool), and the US and Canada (Green Globes)