Project Title & Location
PROVINCIAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR ORIENTAL MINDORO
Regiona 4

Client
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OF ORIENTAL MINDORO
Oriental Mindoro

Project Completion
1994

Associated Firms
Cybersoft Information Technologies, Inc.
Geodyne Consultants, Inc.

Services Provided
- Land Use Planning

Mindoro's development was impeded by natural disasters that caused much destruction to agriculture and infrastructure. Altered topography, diverted rivers, and the new streams cutting off highway travel, were some the havoc wrecked by natural disasters.

Governor Valencia took the initiative in requiring a well-conceived development framework plan for the province. A shared expertise in GIS-backed mapping process, geological analyses and planning comprise the study team.

PROS developed a "sieving process" so that the analytical work could take full advantage of digitally formatted data. Aerial photographs and satellite images spanning a 40-year time horizon were analyzed. Through graphic evaluations, a proper understanding of ground upheavals, the shifting of waterways and altered terrain was reached.

The analytical mapping procedure evolved into a combination of environmental, natural resource and socio-economic planning criteria maps, from which land use and physical framework plans were then formulated. The framework plan became the base for the definition of major programs for various sectors of the province.

Guided by the thresholds and capacities of the natural setting, the planning process is:

- Resource based, limited by the thresholds;
- Systematic and analytical; and
- Sustainable.

The process used in the preparation of the development framework and land use plans can well be used as the model for the preparation of plans for many other regions.