Business groups want DENR to ease log ban

Businessmen rally behind the move of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to liberalize the harvest and transport of forest products and derivatives from tree plantations in forest and private lands stressing the current logging moratorium has discouraged investments in this sector and makes the country a net importer of timber.

A joint statement signed by 15 business groups lauded the DENR initiative in formulating an administrative order to streamline the procedures in the harvest and transport of forest products.

“With the logging moratorium that banned the harvest and transport of trees from natural and residual forests for protection and preservation purposes, the country is left with tree plantations,” according to the statement.

Businessmen noted that existing regulations premised on the protection of natural and residual forests have the unintended outcome of discouraging investments in tree plantations and wood processing. They urged to customize the current regulations to provide a policy environment conducive for tree plantations to thrive.

“We recognize this critical step of the Philippine government to increase the productivity of the forest sector under the banner of sustainable forest management,” the groups said.

The groups have also suggested five salient features for inclusion in the DENR’s proposed administrative order to promote and liberalize tree plantations.

Foremost, the business community has proposed the reduction to 100 percent inventory requirement to zero prior to harvest of planted trees in private lands.

They also recommended that prior to harvest of planted trees in forest lands, adhere to the 5 percent inventory requirement per Presidential Decree 705 or the Revised Forestry Code.

If products are to be transported outside the tree plantation area, only require a certification from a tree plantation certifier duly registered or accredited by the DENR to certify that products come from tenured tree plantations in forest lands, and from the landowner’s private property in private lands.

The groups also asked to allow private tree plantation owners and holders of tenure arrangements to establish their wood processing plants to encourage vertical integration.

Businessmen also propose to institutionalize a Tree Plantation Certification Training, a training program for tree plantation certification. Likewise, issue the necessary guidelines for the recognition of third-party certifiers.

According to the group, the Philippines has growing wood demand but current supply is unable to keep up.

From 2006-2016, the average wood supply of the country is 5.17 million cubic meters (m3) while the wood consumption is 6.94 million m3 resulting in an average deficit of 1.77 million m3. Wood supply is composed of at least 75 percent imported products while the rest are from local sources.1 Once a major timber exporter, the Philippines is now a net timber importer.

The average contribution of the sector to country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is 0.08 percent or ₱4 billion from 1998-2018. The Philippines currently has eight million hectares of land for timber.