President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has signed Republic Act 12230, declaring an area in Ilocos Norte as the Paoay Lake Protected Landscape for better management and appropriate funding.

The new law signed by the President on August 4 said the declaration of the Paoay Lake Protected Landscape (PLPL) was “in recognition of the richness of biological resources, both flora and fauna, that are native and distinct to Paoay Lake as well as their aesthetic and ecological importance.”

The law underscored the state’s policy to secure the perpetual existence of all native plants and animals for Filipinos’ present and future generations through the declaration of protected areas under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS).

With the signing, a Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) will be created to be composed of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional executive director, provincial governor, senators who are registered residents of Ilocos Norte, representative of the congressional district where the Paoay Lake Protected Landscape is located, Paoay mayor, among others.

The PAMB’s duties include overseeing the management of the Paoay Lake Protected Landscape; approving policies, plans, and programs for the area’s management; and approving and harmonizing a management plan with the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan.

A Protected Area Management Office will also be established to supervise daily management, protection, and administration of the Paoay Lake Protected Landscape.

The law also mandates the creation of the Paoay Lake Protected Landscape Integrated Fund for the protection, maintenance, administration, and management of the NIPAS and duly approved projects endorsed by the PAMB.

The fund may be augmented by grants, donations, and endowments from various domestic and foreign sources, and shall be deposited as a special account in the National Treasury. | PND