The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) launched PlanSmart for Sustainable Human Settlements last month, marking a major development in modernizing land use and development planning in the Philippines.
The DENR introduced the digital platform with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
PlanSmart is a digital platform that streamlines and strengthens land use planning by integrating spatial and hazard datasets, automated analytics and accessible planning tools.
Developed by DHSUD and DOST with support from the World Bank, the platform enables national agencies and local government units (LGUs) to prepare risk-informed, evidence-based and climate-responsive plans.
DENR Secretary Raphael P. M. Lotilla, DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. and DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon R. Aliling signed a statement of commitment to institutionalize PlanSmart as a transformative planning innovation.
The commitment underscores the importance of data-driven planning, inter-agency collaboration and providing LGUs with tools to build resilient and well-planned communities.
Lotilla in his message stressed the role of environmental information and institutional collaboration in shaping resilient development.
“PlanSmart for sustainable human settlements demonstrates that governance is most effective through institutional collaboration. It represents the beginning of a new era in data-driven, automated and science-based planning,” Lotilla said.
“By integrating hazard information from DOST, land-use standards from DHSUD, and environmental data sets from DENR, we are equipping LGUs with the tools to build smart, safe and sustainable communities,” he added.
PlanSmart’s integrated modules support both local and provincial planning by harmonizing ecological profiles with climate and disaster risk assessments, and generating comprehensive land use plans and zoning ordinances.
The platform also aids in provincial development and physical framework plans, and incorporates resilient urban design principles into public spaces and built environments.
Through consolidated datasets and streamlined workflows, LGUs are able to produce data-driven and climate-responsive land use plans more efficiently.
The DENR’s participation includes contributing to data mapping and harmonization activities to identify sectoral data requirements, consolidate agency feedback, assess available information systems and explore mechanisms and protocols for data sharing.
It strengthens the environment sector’s role in harmonized ecological profiling and land use planning of LGUs, including disaster risk reduction and management. DENR News
