The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is urging coastal local government units (LGUs) to establish greenbelt zones as part of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for food security and climate-resilient communities.

Issued through Memorandum Circular No. 2025-066 dated July 7, 2025, the issuance emphasizes the role of greenbelt zones, composed of mangroves and beach forests, as natural barriers against storm surges and coastal flooding, while also serving as vital nursery grounds for fisheries and aquaculture.

The DILG calls on LGUs to identify priority areas for greenbelt development, particularly densely populated and hazard-prone coastal zones, including those legally designated as protected marine areas. LGUs are tasked to lead in the rehabilitation and reforestation of degraded sites, and enforce environmental safeguards such as bans on mangrove cutting, shoreline encroachment, and destructive fishing practices.

The circular also enjoins LGUs to enact ordinances declaring greenbelt zones as protected areas or Local Conservation Areas, and to integrate a Coastal Greenbelt Management and Action Plan into their Comprehensive Land Use Plans, Local Climate Change Action Plans, and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plans.

As frontliners in disaster risk reduction and environmental governance, LGUs are in a strategic position to lead local adaptation efforts and help build food-secure, climate-resilient coastal communities.

Original Article At: https://www.dilg.gov.ph/news/DILG-to-Coastal-LGUs-Establish-Greenbelt-Zones-to-Fight-Food-Insecurity-Disasters/NC-2025-1101