DENR: Multiple use of forest lands good for economy, environment

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The government is optimistic that revenues will increase from the new Sustainable Forest Land Management Agreement

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government is encouraging the private sector to undertake multiple uses of degraded forest lands following the creation of a new production sharing agreement.

The environment department launched Thursday, June 26, the Sustainable Forest Land Management Agreement (SFLMA) which consolidates eight existing tenurial instruments (fixed-peridod deals) concerned with grazing, tourism, and timber production.

“The SFLMA represents a major shift in how the Philippines manages its 15.8 million hectares of forest lands, offering 25-year renewable agreements that allow multiple management strategies within a single forest area — from agroforestry and ecotourism to forest plantation development and conservation initiatives,” Environment Secretary Raphael Lotilla said on Thursday.

The concept of multiple-use forest management is not new and has been recognized as policy since the Forestry Reform Code in 1975.

However, policies from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) only encouraged “single investment option for a single forest land,” Ray Thomas Kabigting of the Forest Management Bureau said.

Tenurial instruments give individuals, communities, and companies the right to utilize public land. The government, supposed to regulate the sustainable use of resources, generates revenues from user’s fees.

In 2024, the Forestry Center generated P600 million from users’ fees collected from its tenurial programs. This was low, Kabigting said, given that this covered 1.4 million hectares of public land.

With the SFLMA’s updated user’s fee structure, Kabigting said they expect “an improvement in terms of our revenue contribution to the government.”

The fee structure under the SFLMA are:

• Forest/agroforestry: 3% of gross or P1,200 per hectare a year
• Grazing: P300 per hectare a year
• Energy use: 3% of gross or P85,000 per hectare a year
• Special uses/ecotourism: P7,200 per hectare a year with 10% annual increase

Aside from revenues, Lotilla said the program can give way to job creation and increased food production.

“I think the returns to the economy should not only be seen in terms of the revenues, but of the productivity that is going to be unleashed as a consequence of making this available for productive purposes,” Lotilla said.

The SFLMA is effective for 25 years and can be renewed for another 25 years. Under this agreement, individuals, communities, or private firms are exempted from the logging ban. They can harvest, sell, utilize timber or agricultural products and export them without restrictions. A single corporation is limited to manage 40,000 hectares of public land.

Because there are some areas that overlap with ancestral domains, applicants must secure clearance from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples as well.

Prior to the launch, an alliance of anti-mining and environmental groups criticized this move, saying the DENR betrayed its mandate by giving lease to private firms.

Alyansa Tigil Mina warned in a statement early June, that this direction could lead to more environmental violations committed by large firms and more environmental issues erupting in localities.

The program covers forests outside areas protected under the Extended National Integrated Protected Area System. A total of 1,783 parcels of forest lands are available for private investments.

Caraga Administrative Region and Davao Region have the most land coverage under the program. – Rappler.com