Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)

The history of the Department goes back as far as 1863 when by virtue of a Spanish Royal Decree an office known as Inspeccion General de Montes was created in the Philippines. Although that agency focused on forest administration in its generic terms as dictated by the limited scope of services then required, nevertheless its functions and responsibilities included several concerns related to the management of a wide range of natural resources, such as forest inventory and protection, land classification, watershed protection, water, biodiversity and mineral resources conservation.