Philippines Country Report On Sustainable Forest Management Forest Management Bureau Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Forest resources RP lies to the east of continental Asia between the South China Sea and the Philippine Sea, extending from 5° to 20° north of the equator and comprising more than 7,100 islands. Land area of 30 million hectares and a population of 90 million people. Lands that are 18% in slope and above are classified as forest lands and owned by the state / government and total to 15.9 million hectares or 52.68% of the country’s area. The actual forest cover is officially estimated at 7.168 million hectares of which 6.432 million hectares is in classified forest lands while .737 million hectares are outside. About .8 million hectares is considered as primary or virgin forests.

Forest Change Deforestation at an annual rate of about 316,000 hectares in the 1980s, caused by land conversion, shifting cultivation, forest fires and over-logging. Deforestation decreased to about 89,000 hectares (1.4%) annually during the 1990s (FAO 2005). Much of the remaining forest is heavily fragmented. About 28,000 hectares were detected as forest areas converted to agriculture, settlements, infrastructures and other purposes. Unplanned fire destroyed an estimated 8,000 hectares while illegal exploitation accounted to about 1,500 hectares based on apprehensions.

KEY SFM POINTS Recent forest policies and guidelines strengthen SFM implementation with focus on management tools, updating of management information, evaluation and management of protected and production forests, comprehensive upland development program, forest law enforcement, and relating forests to climate change. An area of 15.9 million hectares has been defined legally as forest land (land with greater than 18% slope), but the estimated natural-forest PFE under actual forest cover is only about 7.168 million hectares. PFE covers 6.43 million hectares of production forest and 1.339 million hectares of protection forest with an estimated 281,764 hectares of plantation. The PFE is now 100 % demarcated and delineation on the ground with monuments is on going however, the production and protection forest within are yet to be demarcated.

KEY SFM POINTS Forest cover and forest types are currently being updated using ALOS satellite images from Japan. At least 79,000 hectares of natural-forest production PFE are estimated to be sustainably managed. No estimate could be made of the extent to which the protection PFE is similarly managed. Reforestation / Afforestation exceeds deforestation. Commercial-scale concessions called ‘timber license agreements’ have been the main mechanism for allocating logging rights in the past; forest management is now being conducted largely under community- based approaches; most expiring TLAs have been converted to IFMA

KEY SFM POINTS The contribution of the industrial forest sector to the national economy has declined dramatically in recent years and stood at only 0.07% of GDP in 2008 which is a slight improvement from 0.05% in 2003. An estimated 25 million people are dependent on forest lands (not necessarily forested) for subsistence uses and traditional and customary lifestyles. Indigenous people have been granted Certificates and Titles to their Ancestral Domain to an estimated 7.1 million hectares of lands all over the country including undetermined areas in the PFE.

KEY SFM POINTS DENR is the government agency responsible for forest management and protected areas and administrative decentralization to its field offices has been implemented. Devolution of forestry functions and activities from DENR to local government units is being accelerated. The Philippines remains a net importer of timber products. The Philippines has a large number of endangered species. In its protected-area network of 6.85 million hectares, the estimated extent within PFE is 1.339 million hectares.

Constant since 2001 – 03 inventory Progress of SFM Key Indicators TOWARDS SFM Policy framework and guidelines PFE delineation Institutional framework Tenure in forest lands More reforestation and harvest in plantation species Less forest destruction Information management IEC for awareness Resource assessment ASLO Planning procedures Long-term strategies Management guidelines Harvesting procedures GDP, GVA, and other economic contribution Participation of communities / IPs Forest dependents, social relations Conservation, biodivesity procedures Non-wood products AWAY FROM SFM Legislations Integrated land use plans Production / protection delineation Forest investment Incentives Monitoring and evaluation Protected areas Ecosystem diversity IUCN species, biodiversity Soil / water conservation Certification of production / protection areas Forestry employment Timber production Timber trade, importer Processing efficiency Constant since 2001 – 03 inventory Resource base Permanent forest estate Forest types

MABUHAY! 12TH ASOF

MARAMING SALAMAT