Philippines--Row Rages Over Lifting of Log Export Ban
4/22/98
OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by EE
The Philippine government has announced plans to lift its nine-year
ban on the export of timber in order to earn badly needed foreign
exchange. The ban was in response to the fact that 3/4 of the
nation's forest cover has been lost and only 14% of remaining forests
are primary. Thus, just 3% of the original primary forest area is
intact. This denuding of the countryside has had real and significant
impacts on the ecology, quality of life and future development
potential of the country. The decision has sparked protest and now
the matter is to be put to public hearings. Economic crisis would not
seem to warrant such short term measures which would surely only
worsen economic and ecological prospects--which are after all just two
sides of the same coin.
It is interesting to note the various forest management decisions
across South East Asia in response to the economic crisis--from the
Solomon Islands deciding to pursue another forest paradigm, to Papua
New Guinea holding the line on log export taxes, and now the
Philippines essentially giving away the rest of the shop. The forests
of the region have provided for local people for millennia, and long
after the present crisis has faded, people's quality of life will be
impacted upon by decisions made today. Just my opinion.
g.b.
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: PHILIPPINES: Row Rages Over Lifting of Ban on Lumber Exports
Source: InterPress Service via Econet
Status: Copyright, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: April 17, 1998
Byline: Johanna Son
/** reg.philippine: 101.0 **/
** Topic: IPS: PHILIPPINES: Row Rages Over Lifting of Ban on Lumber
Exports **
** Written 4:10 PM Apr 20, 1998 by newsdesk in cdp:reg.philippine **
Copyright 1998 InterPress Service, all rights reserved.
Worldwide distribution via the APC networks.
*** 17-Apr-98 ***
Title: PHILIPPINES: Row Rages Over Lifting of Ban on Lumber Exports
By Johanna Son
MANILA, Apr 17 (IPS) - A firestorm of protests has erupted over a
decision by the Philippine government to lift a nine-year-old ban on
lumber exports, a move aimed at earning badly needed foreign exchange
amid Asia's economic crunch.
The decision, issued by the environment department on Mar. 11 and
publicised on Apr. 8, has kindled a debate on whether the country's
forests have had enough breathing space to allow a resumption of such
exports.
The export ban will be suspended for six months, during which less
than 10 logging firms in good standing would be allowed to export
lumber to get ''optimum value'' for hardwood like Philippine mahogany
and plantation-produced wood.
Filipino officials, led by President Fidel Ramos, say advances in
technology and stepped-up planting of replacement forests are
sufficient to safeguard the state of Philippine forests.
But environmental critics say the decision ''defies logic'', not least
because it comes at a time when the drought-stricken country is
battling forest fires in parts of the country.
''It's very important that every sector of society should help in
times of financial and economic crisis,'' said Environment Secretary
Victor Ramos.
President Ramos said fears about the decision leading to unchecked and
illegal logging were unfounded, because ''the planting of replacement
forests was done several years ago''.
But this week, the torrent of criticism from green activists to the
Catholic Church forced the Ramos government to soften and submit the
lifting of the export ban, belatedly, to public hearings.
The first hearing was held on Thursday, and a final decision is
expected later in the month.
''The bishops do not understand why instead of embarking on a massive
reforestation project, the government allowed concessionaires to even
export lumber,'' said Archbishop Oscar Cruz, president of the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
The government's order to allow lumber exports is a ''perfect case of
the cure being worse than the disease'', Ron Gutierrez of the Haribon-
Protect the Environment group told a local newspaper.
The Philippines suspended lumber exports in March 1989, after a
decision to stop all logging in virgin forests and to limit operations
of logging firms within reforested, logged over forests or second
growth areas. Timber and timber products from commercial plantations
are exempted from the ban.
That decision to stop lumber exports was made in view of the fact that
the Philippines' old growth forests stands at .805 million hectares,
or 14 percent of total forest land of 5.49 million hectares.
The archipelago's original forest cover used to be 27 million hectares
or 90 percent of total land area, but by 1988 this had fallen to 6.5
million hectares or less than 22 percent of total land area.
The estimated deforestation rate in the country ranges from 100,000 to
270,000 hectares a year.
As public opposition to widescale logging grew over the years -- the
area covered by concessions reached more than one-third of the country
in the seventies -- the Philippines has scaled down logging
operations.
Over the past decade it has ordered a ban on the export of logs and
stopped issuing new timber license agreements (TLAs).
Ramos, the environment chief, says none of these rules have changed,
except for the fact that the few firms with TLAs and those running
integrated forest management contracts can now sell overseas the
products they are already making.
He estimates that this would involve some 200,000 cubic metres
of lumber. This lumber would not come from old growth forests,
because logging is banned there, Ramos added.
At present, he said local logging firms were being forced to
sell premium mahogany to construction firms, when cheaper imported
wood can be used, because the furniture industry cannot absorb
their products.
Officials said there will no be increase in the volume of
timber allowed to be cut in the country, or the coverage of areas
where logging is allowed.
''This six months is a small window,'' Ramos said. ''If it is
found out this encourages illegal logging, we'll simply just close
that window.''
Critics, however say that whatever the technical distinctions,
lifting the ban on lumber exports creates a perception of demand
for the products that would provide incentive for illegal or
stepped-up logging.
This, they said, may reverse whatever gains the Philippines has
order (lifting the export ban) is a mistake,'' Jukka
Holopannen of the Haribon Foundation was quoted as saying.
Nearly 20 non-government groups are launching a signature
campaign to get one million signatures to convince the environment
department to reverse its decision.
Church officials also asked how the government could take such
a move at a time when the Philippines is suffering through a
serious drought, which has helped fuel a spate of forest and brush
fires that has affected 20,000 hectares of land in different parts
of the country. (END/IPS/AP-EN/JS/RAL/98)
Origin: Manila/PHILIPPINES/
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