The forest cover of PPC was measured in 1992 under the JAFTA project and was recorded to have 149,317 hectares. In 1998, another measurement of the City’s forest cover revealed that it slightly increased to 151,405 hectares. The increase was attributed to the reforestation undertaken by the City and other organizations such as the PCSDS, DENR, NGOs and POs. In the measurement done by the ECAN Zoning Project in 2005 using SPOT5 imageries, the total forest cover (primary, secondary, limestone and ultramafic forests) of the City was recorded at 159,203 hectares posting an increase of 7,798 hectares from 1998.
A survey was conducted by the Flora Survey Team of the ECAN Zoning Project in 2005 covering selected watersheds in the City. The watersheds selected are those that serve as catchments to the major rivers in the City; present and potential sources of water supply; and critical to sustaining the productivity of the agriculture in the lowland and coastal/marine habitats and fisheries.
The watersheds covered in the survey include:
Northern Puerto Princesa City
- Langogan
- Maoyon
- Tagabinet
- Sabang
- Bahile
- Talaudyong
- Nagtabon Forest
Southern Puerto Princesa City
- Napsan Traverse
- Montible Brushland
- Central Peak
- Mt. Salakot
- Mt. Beaufort
- Irawan Downslope