Nongovernment reforestation in the Philippines: Ways forward

Abstract

Nongovernment reforestation is defined as reforestation done through tenure instruments, citizenry, and private lands. This Policy Note aims to identify contemporary issues and problems related to nongovernment reforestation and recommends specific actions that can be undertaken to address them. Private reforestation is found to perform the best among the different types of nongovernment reforestation, and may be the preferred approach to nongovernment reforestation in the future. This type of reforestation, however, has problems and issues that may prevent it from reaching its full potential. One of these issues is the constant change and inconsistency of relevant laws and policies. To address this, the study recommends the passing of a well-developed Sustainable Forest Management Act that will harmonize existing laws to make them more consistent.