Philippines to Create Timber Corridor for Wood Self-Sufficiency
Copyright 2001 Asia Pulse
December 10, 2001
BUTUAN CITY, Dec 10 - The Philippines government has launched a comprehensive program designed to make the country self-sufficient in wood and other forest products.
The Caraga Forest Plantation Corridor (CFPC), a flagship project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), will create the first wood-based economic zone in the country and combat rampant and environmentally devastating deforestation.
DENR Secretary Heherson Alvarez said the program is pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 17 issued by President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo in March designating areas in Agusan del Sur as Special Economic Zone, and DENR Administrative Order No. 99-13, declaring certain portions of the public forestlands in Region 13 part of the CFPC. The program is based on the 1990 Philippine Forestry Master Plan (FMP), which was designed in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and called for the establishment of a 684-503-hectare forest plantation corridor in Northern Mindanao. It was partly funded by the governments of New Zealand and Finland.
"I am morally and firmly convinced that this is a solution to the loss of our forests and that it can, through sustainable development, build a winner industry that will make the country self-sufficient in timber," Alvarez said.
"The DENR will reforest some 1.5 million hectares of denuded forest or 10 per cent of the country's 15.8 million hectares of forestlands to take care of our local needs as well as enable the country to export," he added.
The industrial project has been initiated and pursued by two past administrations of then DENR Secretaries Victor Ramos and Antonio Cerilles.
Paralleled with the project is a program to organize extensive nurseries with state-of-the-art technology including cloning, that will enable the production of millions of planting stocks.
"By achieving not only self-sufficiency in wood and wood products but export capability as well, we hope to end our multi-billion peso imports of pulp and paper and USS60 million imports of wood and timber annually," Alvarez said.
"Through this, we seek to invigorate the economy and protect the environment," he said.