Journal of Environmental Science and Management 14(1): 12-23 (June 2011)

12 ISSN 0119-1144

High Resolution Satellite Data for Comprehensive Land-Use Planning

Victorino A. Bato1, Eduardo P. Paningbatan, Jr.2 and Benjamin J. Bartolome3
ABSTRACT

Current Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) preparations do not make use of high-
resolution satellite imageries. Therefore, the document does not reflect the true-existing land use
condition and cannot be reliably used as baseline information for the formulation of the land use
plan. This research utilized geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing methods in
the creation of a land use map for the CLUP of Santo Tomas, Batangas, using high-resolution
IKONOS satellite image. The IKONOS data utilized for the CLUP has many applications,
especially in understanding the landscape, the ecological processes operating within, and
assessing potential threats. The resulting land use map generated from the satellite image is
more comprehensive than if traditional mapping approaches were used. Accuracy of the map is
also high because of the straight-forward identification of land use classes, similar to aerial
photographs. The generated land use map is also the most updated because satellite data affords
the most recent snapshot of the landscape. Lastly, the process of generating the land use map
from high-resolution satellite data is the most cost-effective, compared to the usual ground
survey work and aerial photography.

Key words: Land use, CLUP, IKONOS

INTRODUCTION

The Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP)
is a document embodying specific proposals for
guiding [and] regulating growth and development
of a city or municipality (HLURB 2006). The
document is made by the local government unit
(LGU) in compliance with RA 7160 and is revised
and updated every ten years. The CLUP is the
blueprint of the LGUs developmental plans in
line with its mission and vision. The CLUP is a
unique top-down land use mapping process,
because it considers all sectors significant in the
development process (HLURB 2006), therefore
it puts into practice the essence of local autonomy
among LGUs (HLURB 2006).
Different approaches have been used in the
past to generate a CLUP. More recent approaches
have taken advantage of state-of-the-art technologies
like geographic information systems (GIS). The
HLURB endorses the use of GIS as a tool for the
preparation of the CLUP because of its strength
in mapping, analysis, and database management.
The GIS Cookbook is an HLURB published
document that serves as a guide for LGUs who
1
Assistant Professor, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines Los Baos. Email address: batovict@msu.edu (corresponding
author)
2
Professor, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines Los Baos, College, Laguna
3
Professor, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines, Los Baos., College, Laguna
would like to start a GIS in their offices and use
it in the preparation of their CLUPs.
Remote Sensing has been used by scientists
for more than thirty years for investigating the
surface of the earth. The increased availability of
commercial, high-resolution satellite data has
revolutionized the land use planning process.
Despite its obvious benefits, high-resolution
satellite data are not often used in the preparation
of land use plans because of institutional,
leadership, budgetary, procedural, and even
personnel factors (National Research Council
2003). High-resolution satellite imageries are a
good source of data for GIS that could be used in
the preparation of CLUPs. Their use, however,
requires GIS and remote sensing to be used in
support of one another.
Given the financial and technological paucity
of the majority of the LGUs in the Philippines,
CLUPs that did not make use of GIS and Remote
Sensing technologies are limited in their
completeness and comprehensiveness. These
Journal of Environmental Science and Management Vol. 14. No. 1 (June 2011)
documents do not reflect the true-existing land
use condition and cannot be reliably used as
baseline information for the formulation of the
land use plan. A need exists to incorporate the
use of high-resolution imagery, GIS, and remote
sensing techniques to comprehensively inventory
the existing land resources of the LGU, which
will serve as the baseline information (existing
land use) for the land use plan.
This research sought to utilize Geographic
Information System (GIS) and remote sensing
in Comprehensive Land Use Planning (CLUP),
using IKONOS high-resolution satellite data.
Further, this research aims to document the
methods in GIS and remote sensing used in the
study.
Origins of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan
(CLUP)
Republic Act 7160 (RA 7160), otherwise
known as the Local Government Code of 1991 is
the law that mandates local government units
(LGUs) in the Philippines to formulate a
comprehensive land use plan (CLUP). This law
states: The local government units shall, in
conformity with existing laws, continue to prepare
their respective comprehensive land use plans
enacted through zoning ordinances which shall
be the primary and dominant bases for the future
use of land resources: provided, that the requirements
for food production, human settlements, and
industrial expansion shall be taken into
consideration in the preparation of such plans.
Republic Act 7279 (RA 7279), known as the
Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992,
defines land use plan as the rational approach
of allocating available resources as equitably as
possible among competing user groups and for
different functions consistent with the development
plan of the area. A land use plan is necessary
for sustainable socio-economic development, the
appropriate use of natural resources, the promotion
of safety and welfare of people, and the improvement
of quality of life.
The Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board
(HLURB), formerly the Human Settlements
Commission, is the government agency mandated
13
to prescribe standards and guidelines governing
the preparation of land use plans. The Agencys
mandates and functions as a regulatory body for
land use planning are stipulated by Presidential
Decree No. 933, dated May, 1976. The Agency is
also tasked to extend technical and other forms of
assistance to LGUs in the preparation of their
CLUPs. The HLURB is required to monitor the
implementation of plans and adjudicate and settle
disputes in land use plans and zoning ordinances.
Different Approaches to Land Use Planning
Different techniques have been used in the
creation of CLUPs. In the past, resource-based
land use planning was used. This approach to
land use planning focuses on natural resources
such as land and water resources. The most suitable
land use plans are conceived based on the physical
characteristics of the area such as climate, slope,
soil texture, soil depth, soil erosion potential, and
drainage. Though this approach is based on
sound science, it does have its limitations and
fails to consider the social aspect of land use
planning.
A parcellary (cadastral) approach to land use
mapping was used by Panaguiton (1998) as an
input to a CLUP. This type of approach is centered
on land parcels as individual units of land use.
The approach became popular among LGUs during
its time, but is still up to now seldom performed
because of the high cost and length of time
associated with scanning and digitizing voluminous
cadastral paper maps. Reconciling the boundaries
of different parcels is also a daunting task, as
many of these maps have inherent inaccuracies
due to very crude surveying technologies. Also,
digitizing old parcel boundaries is of limited use
when its boundary has already been changed due
to land divisions, which commonly happens in
the Philippines.
A recent approach to land use planning is the
use of high-resolution satellite imagery such as
IKONOS, which offers a one-meter spectral
resolution good enough for urban land use planning.
This approach to land use planning is a merger
of the resource-based approach and parcellary
approach. High-resolution satellite images provide
synoptic views of the landscape, showing the
14 High Resolution Satellite Data for CLUP

different land and water resources available to
people, and can also provide detailed information
such as location of buildings, houses, roads,
bridges, power lines, and other structures. It
therefore gives consideration to the social aspect
of land use planning because the urban landscape
(like the Municipality of Santo Tomas), espe-
cially its existing land use, is a product of the
activities of humans and is designed as such to
better serve its purpose.
eastern portion by Mt. Olila. The land area of Mt.
Makiling is categorized into either Makiling
Forest Reserve (MFR) and Makiling Forest
Reserve Buffer Zone (MFRBZ). Barangays San
Rafael, Santiago, San Antonio, San Bartolome,
San Miguel, San Vicente, and Santa Elena have
portions in their land area falling within the

METHODS

Geographic Location

The project area is the Municipality of Santo

Tomas, Province of Batangas, and occupies an
area of 9,366.5 ha. The Municipality falls within
the geographic coordinates of 121 07 20
121 14 31 longitude and 13 58 5014 08
58 latitude. Santo Tomas is 55 km south of
Metro Manila and is part of Region IV-A or
CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas,
Rizal, and Quezon). Figure 1 shows the location
of Santo Tomas relative to Metro Manila and
CALABARZON. Santo Tomas is comprised of
30 barangays, four of which are urban centers
Poblacion 1, 2, 3, and 4 (Table 1).

Physical Profile

The north-eastern portion of Santo Tomas is

flanked by Mt. Makiling, the southern portion by Figure 1. Location map of the Santo Tomas,
Mt. Malepunyo (Mt. Mataas na Kahoy), and the Batangas

Table 1. The Barangays of the Municipality of Santo Tomas, Batangas.

No. Barangay Name Area (ha) No. Barangay Name Area (ha)
1 Poblacion I 30.8 16 San Luis 300.6
2 Poblacion II 15.2 17 San Miguel 595.1
3 Poblacion III 16.9 18 San Pablo 220.3
4 Poblacion IV 28.6 19 San Pedro 255.3
5 San Agustin 99.5 20 San Rafael 408.4
6 San Antonio 662.9 21 San Roque 283.1
7 San Bartolome 630.3 22 San Vicente 719.7
8 San Felix 269.3 23 Santa Ana 113.8
9 San Fernando 201.2 24 Santa Anastacia 382.6
10 San Francisco 253.5 25 Santa Clara 314.2
11 San Isidro Norte 290.3 26 Santa Cruz 1141.8
12 San Isidro Sur 270.3 27 Santa Elena 262.3
13 San Joaquin 499.5 28 Santa Maria 170.8
14 San Jose 176.8 29 Santa Teresita 319.0
15 San Juan 170.1 30 Santiago 264.5
Journal of Environmental Science and Management Vol. 14. No. 1 (June 2011)
boundaries of MFR and MFRBZ. The majority
of the land area of Barangay Santa Cruz falls
within the Malepunyo Forest. Portions of Barangay
San Juan is within Mt. Olila. Around 7,000 ha of
land of the Municipality have a slope of zero to
eight percent, where the residential, commercial,
industrial, and agricultural land uses are located.
Areas with slopes greater than 18% are the Mt.
Makiling, Mount Olila, and Mt. Malepunyo areas.
The poblacion area and the northwestern side of
Santo Tomas (closest to San Juan River) have an
elevation of 100 to 200 m above mean sea level.
Areas on the middle tributary of San Juan River
have an elevation of 200 to 300 m above mean
sea level. The upper tributary areas of San
Juan River have an elevation of 300 to 1,086 m
above mean sea level. Except for the Mt. Makiling
where the soil type is Macolod Clay Loam, the
rest of the soil in the Municipality is Lipa Clay
Loam.
The northern boundary of the Municipality is
bounded by Siam Siam River, which connects to
San Juan River. San Juan River bounds the western
side of the Municipality and extends from north
to south, it meanders towards Calamba City and
empties into Laguna Lake. Munting River, another
tributary of San Juan River, extends from east to
west, with its tributaries in Mt. Makiling. Quipot
River bounds the south-western portion of the
Municipality. Both Quipot and Tigiro Rivers are
tributaries of San Juan River and extends up to
Mt. Malepunyo. The Tigsa and Kaguinkona Rivers
drains the eastern portion of the Municipality.
Satellite Data Acquisition
One-meter resolution, multi-spectral IKONOS
Satellite data was purchased from Space Imaging.
The order was made through their website together
with the submission of the approximate boundary
of Santo Tomas in ESRI (Environmental Systems
Research Institute) shapefile format. The approximate
boundary served as their reference for locating
the municipality during the programming of the
data acquisition mission.
Several attempts were made by Space Imaging
to capture cloud-free data of Santo Tomas. Samples
were sent via email to confirm if the percentage
cloud-cover is minimal enough and acceptable.
15
The final satellite data, taken March 2009, was
sent on a DVD via international courier.
Data Processing
The process of deriving the existing land use
of Santo Tomas, Batangas, from an IKONOS
high-resolution satellite data involves the merging
of remote sensing and geographic information
systems (GIS). Remote sensing is needed to handle
the pre-processing of the data and remote sensing
skill is required to distinguish different land uses
from the raw image. The GIS is needed in the
delineation of the land use classes, processing of
vector files, and data management.
Remote Sensing Approaches
The IKONOS data was delivered in two
separate tiles, the northern tile and southern tile.
To create a single image of the entire Municipality
of Santo Tomas, the two image tiles were mosaicked
(stitched) together using ENVI (Environment for
Visualizing Images) Software, a remote sensing
and image processing application. Though the
IKONOS data was delivered orthorectified and
georeferenced to the World Geodetic System of
1984 (WGS1984), the data needed reprojection
to Transverse Mercator Projection (Luzon 1911
Datum) to conform to the projection system of
NAMRIAs 1:50,000 topographic map.
Geographic Information Systems Approaches
The land use classes listed in Table 2 were
extracted from the IKONOS satellite data through
screen digitization in ArcGIS 9.2. Because the
data is of high-resolution, the identification and
extraction of the different land use classes were
easy and straight-forward (Figure 2). Figure 3
shows the digitized land use map extracted from
the IKONOS data. After completely digitizing
the different land use classes for the entire image
of Santo Tomas, the resulting vector file underwent
several cycles of cleaning, editing, merging, and
overlaying.
One of the crucial tasks involved in land use
mapping for the CLUP of Santo Tomas is the
delineation of the municipal boundary. Accurate
delineation of the boundary is necessary to avoid
16 High Resolution Satellite Data for CLUP

Table 2. Computed area of each land use class of Santo Tomas, Batangas.
Land Use Area (ha) Land Use Area (ha)
Agricultural 6,257.5 Industrial 294.5
Agro-Industrial 32.1 Institutional 37.3
Residential 1,088.3 Parks 0.9
Cemetery 5.6 PNR Right-of-Way 30.3
Commercial 27.8 Recreational 1.8
Forest 1,347.3 Roads 135.7
Infrastructure/Utility 9.1 Vacant Lot 98.3

Figure 2. IKONOS image of a portion of Santo Tomas, Batangas.

Figure 3. Digitized land use map extracted from IKONOS satellite data.
Journal of Environmental Science and Management Vol. 14. No. 1 (June 2011) 17

boundary disputes with adjoining municipalities Application to the CLUP

and to accurately compute for the land area,
which has a big implication for cityhood in the The advent of affordable, high-resolution
case of Santo Tomas. The municipal boundary satellite images, like IKONOS, poses as a
from the topographic map is just an approximation challenge to the usual method of creating a
and cannot be reliably used as stated in the fine CLUP, but together with the challenge are many
prints of the map. Thus, the boundary of Santo opportunities for improving the CLUP process
Tomas was delineated from the IKONOS data by and incorporating landscape science through better
digitizing the center of San Juan River and its visualization and geographic analysis. A challenge
tributaries. The real boundary can, therefore, be because the data would require knowledge and
established based on this natural feature which skill, hardware, and software for remote sensing
can be clearly identified in the IKONOS data. and GIS. An opportunity because improvements,
like using landscape metrics/indices, can be
In the final vector file output, the area of introduced to strengthen the CLUP process and
each land use class for the entire municipality make it more science-based.
was computed (Table 2). Ground verification
was performed in order to validate the land use Using high-resolution IKONOS data will help in
map and to verify hard-to-identify land cover, the identification of the different land use categories
such as sugarcane fields. Figure 4 shows the land (Table 3) prescribed by the HLURB. These
use map of the entire Municipality of Santo different categories are easily identifiable in the
Tomas. IKONOS data, but some are difficult or impossible
to locate using a medium-scale topographic map.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Assessment of the current state of land use
The existing land use map of Santo Tomas, and how it will affect land and water resources
Batangas, is presented in Figure 4. The computed can be made based on the land use map derived
area of each class is shown in Table 2. The from the IKONOS data. In the case of the
effectiveness of the method used in this study can Municipality of Santo Tomas (Figure 4), much
be evaluated based on the following criteria: (a) of the land conversion from agriculture to residential,
application to the CLUP (b) comprehensiveness, commercial, and industrial are occurring on the
(c) accuracy, (d) timeliness, and (e) cost effectiveness. northern part of the Municipality. These land uses
Table 3. Land use categories prescribed by the HLURB.
Land Use Categories Land Use Map from IKONOS Land Use Map using 1:50,000
Topographic Map as Base Map
Urban Use Areas
Residential Yes Yes
Commercial Yes Difficult
Infrastructure/utilities Yes Difficult
Institutional Yes Difficult
Parks/playgrounds Yes Difficult
Industrial Yes Difficult
Agriculture Yes Yes
Forest Yes Yes
Mining/quarry Yes Difficult
Agro-industrial Yes Difficult
Tourism Yes Difficult
Other uses (cemetery, etc.) Yes Difficult
Water uses Yes Incomplete
18 High Resolution Satellite Data for CLUP

Figure 4. The existing land use map of Santo Tomas, Batangas, generated from one-meter IKONOS
satellite data.
Journal of Environmental Science and Management Vol. 14. No. 1 (June 2011)
tend to concentrate in this area where the recently
constructed STAR (Southern Tagalog Arterial
Road) Tollway exits and where Santo Tomas
shares its boundary with the City of Calamba.
The STAR Tollway will serve as a corridor for
the influx of people and goods into Santo Tomas.
The Tollway provides easy access to the
Municipality and cuts travel time from Metro
Manila and Batangas City, where the pier is located.
The proximity of Santo Tomas to these centers of
population growth makes the Municipality attractive
to potential residents and investors, spurring economic
growth, population growth, and environmental
problems.
The residential areas on the foot slope of Mt.
Makiling shares its boundary with the Makiling
Forest Reserve Buffer Zone (MFRBZ). Formerly,
these areas were formerly agricultural, serving as
a type of buffer to the Makiling forest area
against encroachment. Now that the land has
been converted to residential, the buffer against
encroachment has been reduced to only the
MFRBZ. Conversion of the MFRBZ from
agricultural to residential land use is not impossible
because the area is privately owned (titled). Because
the adjacent area has been converted to residential,
there exists economic pressure for land owners in
the MFRBZ to convert their land to residential
land use. If this scenario occurs, the Makiling
Forest Reserve (MFR) will lose its vegetation
buffer and will be more vulnerable to encroachment
and illegal logging.
The increasing number of people living in
Santo Tomas and the expansion of industrial and
commercial areas will require more water to support
the growing population and economy. Utilizing
the land on the foot slopes of Mt. Makiling to other
than forest or agro-forestry threatens the water
Table 4. Percent distribution of different land uses.
Land Use Percent Coverage
Agricultural 66.8
Agro-Industrial 0.3
Residential 11.6
Cemetery 0.1
Commercial 0.3
Forest 14.4
Infrastructure/Utility 0.1
19
source of the Municipality. Mt. Makiling is a
watershed and is a source of clean, potable water
for municipalities surrounding the mountain. Mt.
Makilings function as a watershed is dependent
on the vegetation growing on it and its vicinities,
removing the vegetation through land conversion
will upset the hydrologic cycle. Currently,
numerous land conversions (Figures 3 and 4) are
occurring on the foot slopes of Mt. Makiling and
threatens its capability to supply water.
Comprehensiveness
The satellite data provided a complete coverage
of the project site, including hard-to-reach places
like the top of Mt. Makiling and fenced private
properties. Thus, even in these areas, land use or
land cover information is available. The percent
distribution of the different land uses in Santo
Tomas is shown in Table 4.
The top three land uses in the Municipality of
Santo Tomas are agriculture, forestry, and residential.
Agricultural areas are found on the foot slopes of
Mt. Makiling, on the MFRBZ. The middle part of
Santo Tomas, down to the southernmost part are
mostly agricultural in land use. The eastern side,
where the geothermal production zone and buffer
zone is located has a land use restricted to
agriculture. The majority of the agricultural areas
are planted to coconut, with few areas planted to
fruit trees, sugarcane, and corn. Identification of
the crops became possible because of the fine-
grained nature of the IKONOS data.
The forest areas are the Makiling Forest
Reserve (MFR) and Mt. Malepunyo (Mt. Mataas
na Kahoy). Residential areas are scattered throughout
the Municipality (north to south and east to
west), especially along the sides of roads. Large
Land Use Percent Coverage
Industrial 3.1
Institutional 0.4
Parks 0.01
PNR Right-of-Way 0.3
Recreational 0.02
Roads 1.4
Vacant Lot 1.0
20 High Resolution Satellite Data for CLUP

clusters of residential areas are present on the Accuracy of the methods described in this paper
northern portion of Santo Tomas, on the foot was assessed by computing the confusion matrix
slopes of Mount Makiling. These residential areas (Table 5) of the land use map derived from the
were once agricultural areas and have recently IKONOS data. A confusion matrix is a tabulation
been developed as subdivisions and villages. Major of the accuracy of an interpreted land use map in
industrial park clusters are located on the northern comparison with the actual land use on the
most portion of the Municipality close to San ground or based on aerial photographs. The land
Juan River. use map derived from the IKONOS data has an
overall mapping accuracy of 86%. In order to
The CLUPs goal is to create a comprehensive determine if such a method delivers better results,
land use plan of a municipality and essential to another confusion matrix was computed based on a
this plan is a comprehensive land use map that land use map (Figure 5) that was generated
shows a complete inventory of the land resources without using a high-resolution satellite date. This
of the municipality. To generate such a land use map will serve as reference for comparing the land
map, a large-scale base map is needed where use map derived from the IKONOS data. The
detailed land resource information can be extracted. overall mapping accuracy (Table 6) of this land
The IKONOS satellite data is very suited for use map is only 48 %.
large scale land use mapping applications. The
data can be utilized up to a scale of 1:2,000, compared The higher accuracy of the land use map
to the 1:50,000 scale of the topographic map. At derived from the IKONOS data can be explained
this scale, very fine details, like house footprints, by the concept of scale, particularly grain size.
width of roads, foot trails, communication towers, The IKONOS image is fine-grained and has a spatial
and small rivers, can be seen on the map. These resolution of one meter. This means that any object
very fine details are not available on the 1:50,000 on the earths surface that has a dimension greater
topographic maps usually used as base map for than one meter can be captured sharply by the
CLUPs. satellite sensor, for example: roads, houses, and
buildings. The land use where these features are
Accuracy located can then be instantly identified by the
analyst. Compared to a medium-grained (30 m
The Accuracy of the land use map generated resolution) data like Landsat, houses and buildings
from the IKONOS data is high because of the are not clearly distinguishable. Accurate
straight-forward identification of land use classes identification of land use is therefore difficult,
afforded by the fine grained nature of the data. resulting to a lower mapping accuracy. The analyst
Table 5. Confusion matrix of interpreted classes from IKONOS data.
Photo/Ground Interpreted Classes Total Omission Commission Class Mapping
Classes A B C D E Accuracy
A 39 0 1 0 4 44 (5x100)/44 = (3x100)/44 = (39x100)/(39+11+7) =
11% 7% 68%
B 2 0 0 0 0 2 (2x100)/2 = (0x100)/2 = (0x100)/(0+100+0) =
100% 0% 0%
C 1 0 4 0 0 5 (1x100)/5 = (1x100)/5 = (4x100)/(4+20+20) =
20% 20% 9%
D 0 0 0 1 0 1 (0x100)/1= (0x100)/1 = (1x100)/(1+0+0) =
0% 0% 100%
E 0 0 0 0 6 6 (6x100)/6 = (4x100)/6 = (6x100)/(6+0+67) =
0% 67% 8%
Total 42 0 5 1 10 58
Overall Mapping Accuracy = ((21 + 0 + 3 + 0 + 2) x 100) / 54 = 48%

Legend
A Agricultural C Forest E Residential
B Agro-industrial D Institutional
Journal of Environmental Science and Management Vol. 14. No. 1 (June 2011) 21

is instead constrained to just identifying the land
cover, instead of the land use. In the absence of
any satellite data, the land use map would have
been derived from old land use data, topographic
maps, and ground surveys. Using the topographic
map with a scale of 1:50,000 as base map, only
the general land use of the area can be generated
(Figure 5). Such a map does not reflect the
details afforded by the IKONOS data and therefore,
suffers from mapping accuracy problems.

Figure 5. The 1998 land use map of Santo Tomas, Batangas, based on 1:50,000 topographic map.
22 High Resolution Satellite Data for CLUP

Table 6. Confusion matrix of land use map generated through conventional methods.
Photo/Ground Land Use Classes Total Omission Commission Class Mapping
Classes A B C D E F G Accuracy
A 21 0 0 0 7 1 12 41 49% 7% 27%
B 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 100% 50% 0%
C 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 4 25% 0% 11%
D 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 100% 100% 0%
E 1 0 0 1 2 1 1 6 67% 117% 1%
Total 24 1 3 1 9 3 13 54
Overall Mapping Accuracy = ((21 + 0 + 3 + 0 + 2) x 100) / 54 = 48%

Legend
A Agricultural C Forest E Residential G - Industry
B Agro-industrial D Institutional F Commercial

Timeliness complete coverage of the Municipality.

Satellite data affords the most recent snap-
shot of the landscape and can be available at a
lesser waiting time than aerial photographs or
ground surveys. The IKONOS data of Santo
Tomas was taken in 2009 and the CLUP was
finished the following year. The land use
information incorporated in the CLUP document
is the most recent and therefore, is a most accurate
reference on the state of land resources of the
Municipality. Without the IKONOS data, the
land use map would have been based on old land
use maps, topographic maps, and sampling surveys.
Though these materials have been used time and
again in numerous CLUPs, the timeliness and the
amount of details they contain can never match
the detailed information the IKONOS data can
afford for land use mapping.
Cost effectiveness
At first glance it would seem that the cost of
high-resolution satellite data is high, but is still
cheaper compared to ground surveys. Santo
Tomas has a total land area of 9,366.5 ha. The
IKONOS satellite data was acquired at a cost of
PhP 500,000.00. Dividing the cost with the land
area will result to PhP 53.00 ha-1, which is a very
reasonable cost considering the amount of
information that can be extracted from the data.
Aerial photographs would cost around PhP
50,000.00 ha-1 (including processing) and would
translate to PhP 468,325,000.00. Actual ground
survey would still be more expensive than
acquiring the IKONOS data and will not provide
Being a digital information, the IKONOS
data can be reused (recycled) and distributed
within the different departments of Santo Tomas
because they hold the license for the data.
Processed products, like the land use map, can be
distributed to other departments, offices, and
barangays that would need them.
CONCLUSION
Using a high-resolution satellite data like
IKONOS greatly improved the land use map of
the Municipality of Santo Tomas. The land use
map is an integral part of the CLUP document.
The use of the high-resolution satellite data has
been shown to have many applications in the
CLUP, especially in incorporating landscape
science into the process. Because of the fine-
grained nature of the IKONOS data, the resulting
land use map is more comprehensive in terms of
land use class contents and location, more accurate
position and classification-wise, more timely, and
cost-effective.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The HLURB should consider prescribing the
use of high-resolution satellite imageries, remote
sensing, and GIS technologies to LGUs in the
creation of their CLUPs. The use of these
technologies will greatly benefit the CLUP
process. Because most LGUs do not currently
have the technical capability to perform remote
sensing and GIS, HLURB should conduct regular
Journal of Environmental Science and Management Vol. 14. No. 1 (June 2011) 23

trainings to LGU staff and should develop an

easy-to-follow technical manual utilizing free and
open-source remote sensing and GIS software.

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