RP now importing wood needs due to deforestation

08 October 2006
By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon

LEGAZPI CITY—SIXTY PERCENT of the country’s wood needs is being imported because of the worsening condition and denudation of our forests, local foresters said at the 58th anniversary celebration and national convention of the Society of Filipino Foresters Inc. (SFFI) held here last week.

Ricardo Umali, SFFI national council president, said it would take the government “hundreds of years and trillions of pesos” to rehabilitate the barren forests but if the people contributed to the effort, this could be shortened by up to 50 years.

Eriberto Agete, director for policy planning at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources central office, said the country’s forest area had widened from 5.5-million hectares to 7.2-million-ha in five years – between 2001 and 2006 – through the reforestation and forest management efforts of the government and other sectors.

In 1930, the country had 17-million-ha of forests.

Agete said SFFI, in cooperation with the DENR and local government units (LGUs), was aiming for “sustainable forest management,” more than just rehabilitation.

“We can work with the LGUs by sharing our knowledge in forest land use planning. We could help determine which forests could be used for production and commercial purposes and which for environmental considerations like protecting biodiversity and water,” Umali said.

Agete said SFFI was seeking the support of the private sector to establish a massive tree plantation since the government had scarce funds for the initiative.

He said the 800,000 trees planted on Aug. 25 for the green highways campaign showed the people’s concern for the environment.

The foresters are still waiting for the Senate to pass the Sustainable Forest Management Act, which has been under deliberation for 12 years.

“We need a new law that is more comprehensive. We currently rely on executive orders which do not allocate regular resources for forest management,” Umali said.

He said one of the factors that was delaying the passage of the bill was the debate on whether the law should advocate a total or a selective log ban.

On the controversial land use conflict going on at the La Mesa watershed because of a planned housing project, Agete said the SFFI did not have much to say about it since the watershed was a titled property owned by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.

“The question now is, will the MWSS allow the DENR to make it a protected area even if it is a titled property? Society, though, would want it proclaimed a protected area since we want to preserve our watersheds,” he said.

There are some 8,000 licensed foresters in the country who are members of the SFFI, the main forestry service provider for the national and local governments, communities and the private sector.

The SFFI said it would continue to find ways and strategies to maximize its professional manpower.

It said it also supports the efforts of forestry schools to come up with a more relevant curriculum that would produce quality foresters who would save the forests from total denudation for the benefit of future generations.