TENURE REFORM IN THE PHILIPPINE

FORESTLANDS
Mayumi Ma. Quintos-Natividad
Assistant Director

International Knowledge Sharing

and Learning Workshop on Land
and Forest Tenure Reform
Vientiane Lao PDR
28-29 August 2012
 Objective
 Forest Resources Situation
 Forest Tenurial Instruments
 Policy and Tenure Reforms
 Impacts of Tenure Reform
 Lessons Learned
 To present and discuss the tenure and
policy reforms in the Philippine
forestlands
 To present the impacts of the said
reforms
 To share the lessons learned from the
Philippine experience
Figure 1. Philippine Forest
Total Land Area
30 Million Hectares

Forestlands Classified A&D Lands

15.80 M ha 14.20 M ha

Not- forested Forested Forested Not- forested

9.3 M ha 6.5 M ha 0.70 M ha 13.4 M ha

Forested (7.20M ha)

•Closed canopy forest ---- 2.56
•Open canopy forest------ 4.31
•Plantation forest -------- 0.33
•Mangrove forest -------- 0.25
Figure 2. Land area classification in the Philippines,
by percentage share.
(http://forestry.denr.gov.ph)
 civil reservations
unclassified forestland
1%
5%
military and naval fishpond
0%
national parks reservations
GRBS/WA 1%
8% established forest
reserves
21%

established
timberland
64%

Figure 3. Forestland classification in the Philippines,

by percentage share.
Table 1. Forest cover by land classification (in ha).
Forest Area in % To Total Forest Area in % To Total
Forestland Land Area A&D lands Land Area

Total Cover 6,521,548 22.08 646,852 2.19

Closed 2,495,833 8.45 65,039 0.22
Forest
Open 3,578,526 12.12 452,062 1.53
Forest
Mangrove 165,425 0.56 81,937 0.28
Plantation 281,764 0.95 47,814 0.16
Source: FRA, 2003
 7.2 M ha forest cover in the Philippines

 Annual increase of 25,000 ha per year based

on forest cover comparison of 1988 and
2003 National Forest Assessments
 Table 2. The main thrust of forestry regulations and tenure reform in the Phils.
PERIOD MAIN THRUST TENURE
1904 to  Primarily directed toward  33% of the country’s total
1970s the utilization of the forest land area was under the
control of holders of timber
license agreement
1975 to  The Revised Forestry Code  1975-Forest Occupancy
present of 1975 embodies most of Management (FOM)
the regulations on the  1976-Family Approach to
* management, Reforestation (FAR)
* administration,  1978-Communal Tree
* regulation, Farming (CTF)
* utilization,  1982-consolidated FOM,
* protection, and FAR & CTF into one --
* development of forest Integrated Social Forestry
resources in the country Program (ISFP)
 Table 2. The main thrust of forestry regulations and tenure reform in the Phils.
PERIOD MAIN THRUST TENURE
1975 to  Policies adopted by  ISFP
present Revised Forestry Code Granted stewardship
1) Multiple use of forest agreements (25 years)
lands Allowing qualified
2) Land classification and applicants to continue
survey occupation & cultivation of
3) Establishment of wood upland areas
processing plants Required to protect &
4) Protection, reforest in turn
development and
rehabilitation of forest  Adoption of social forestry
land as a forest management &
development strategy
 Table 2. The main thrust of forestry regulations and tenure reform in the Phils.
PERIOD MAIN THRUST TENURE
1975 to  Master Plan for Forestry  1987-New Constitution
present Development (1992) social equity at the center
--policy recommendations from of forest policy agenda
the plan were adopted by the National Forestation
government:
Program (NFP)
a) Logging ban in the virgin
- Forest Lease
forest and shift of logging
Management
in the second-growth
Agreement (FLMA)
forests 25-year tenurial
b) Pegging of Forest Charges arrangement
based on a percentage of Entitled to develop the
the market value of forest project site
products Entitled to utilize the
products
 Table 2. The main thrust of forestry regulations and tenure reform in the Phils.
PERIOD MAIN THRUST
1975 to c) Recognize the right of
present indigenous cultural
communities to the ancestral
domain to ensure their social,
economic, and cultural
development
d) Removal of tariff duties on
logs
e) Sustain the logs and lumber
export ban
f) Expansion of forest cover
through forest plantation
establishment and
development
TENURE REFORM
 1989-Community Forestry
Program (CFP)
Community Forest
Management Agreement
(CFMA)
Provided the upland
farmers legal access to :
a) forest resources
b) financial benefits that
can be derived
 Table 2. The main thrust of forestry regulations and tenure reform in the Phils.
PERIOD MAIN THRUST TENURE REFORM
1975 to  EO 263 – Community  1992-rights of indigenous
present Based Forest Management cultural communities were
 EO 318 – Promoting recognized
Sustainable Forest  National Integrated
Management in the Protected Areas System
Philippines (NIPAS) Act
 EO 23 – Moratorium on the Certificate of Ancestral
cutting and harvesting in Land Claim (CALC)
natural forests - reasserted the rights of
 EO 26 – National Greening indigenous peoples (IPs)
Program to their ancestral lands
 Table 2. The main thrust of forestry regulations and tenure reform in the Phils.
PERIOD MAIN THRUST TENURE REFORM
1975 to Other Forestry Related  1995-Community-Based
present Policies: Forest Management Program
 R.A. 7586 -The National (CBFMP)
Integrated Protected Area  CBFMP as the national
strategy to attain sustainable
System Act (NIPAS)
forest management and social
 R.A. 8371 - Indigenous
equity
Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) Community-Based Forest
of 1997 Management Agreement
 R.A. 9729 - National (CBFMA)
Climate Change Act
 R.A. 7161 - Forest Charges FOM, FAR & CTF—
Act forerunners of CBFMP
 Table 2. The main thrust of forestry regulations and tenure reform in the Phils.
PERIOD MAIN THRUST
1975 to  Indigenous Peoples Rights
present Act (IPRA)
-ancestral domain was
recognized in legislation as
private, discrediting the
notion of state ownership
over all classified forest lands
-prohibits the selling of these
lands
 Current policy environment
encourages strong
partnership in forest
management. This has to
be sustained.
TENURE REFORM
 Certificate of Ancestral
Domain Claim (CADC) and
Certificate of Ancestral
Land Claim (CALC)
 1997-IPRA
 Certificate of Ancestral
Domain Title (CADT)
 Certificate of Ancestral
Land Title (CALT)
1) Impacts on Livelihood and Income
 Contract out to People’s Organization
(PO) the different site development
activities
 Credit &/or marketing cooperative have
also been organized
 Cooperative members are trained on
various livelihood activities
1) Impacts on Livelihood and Income
 Example: case of the Kalahan Educational
Foundation (KEF)
 Ikalahan tribe with the assistance of
foreign missionary was able to develop a
viable small scale food processing using
locally available wild berries
2) Impacts on Forest
Condition
-decline in forest cover
has been arrested with
the increasing number of
Forestlands being placed
under CBFM
-improvement in forest
condition in many areas
1)Impacts on Social Justice and Equity
Goal of social justice & equity
has been addressed at the
national level by CBFM through
transfer of access &
management to local
communities & individuals
(a privilege that used to be
monopolized by well-off TLA
holders)
 The foundation of sustainable forest
management is an enabling legislated policy.

 Pursuing sustainable forest management

through community forestry requires the
reinvention of a forestry agency.

 Sustainable livelihood is a pre-requisite to the

achievement of sustainable forest management.
 Capacity building goes beyond the community
level to include the major supporting agencies.

 While sustainable forest management is a long

and costly process, the availability of financial
support by itself does not guarantee success.
 Social processes that ensure greater
participation of local communities and other
legitimate stakeholders in the management and
sharing of benefits from forests should be
adequately developed.
FMB. 2010. Philippine Forestry Statistics. Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR), Visayas Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City.
Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) Project. 2005. Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Visayas Avenue, Diliman,
Quezon City.
Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) Project. 2003. Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Visayas Avenue, Diliman,
Quezon City.
PD 705. Revising Presidential Decree No. 380. Otherwise Known as the
Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines.
<http://www.chanrobles.com/presidentialdecrees/presidentialdecreeno7
05.html#.UCyAPallT90>
Revised Master Plan for Forestry Development (RMPFD). 2003. Department
of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Visayas Avenue,
Diliman, Quezon City.
The 1987 Philippine Constitution. .< www.chanrobles.com>
http://forestry.denr.gov.ph