DENR to revisit community-based forest program

The Forest Management Bureau-DENR plans to revisit the implementation of its Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) program through an assessment or review, next month. This activity will be participated by selected DENR officials, CBFM technical staff, presidents of people’s organizations in the regions, and president of National People’s Organization Federation. Its purpose is to ensure that FMB-DENR is on the right track in pursuing sustainable forest management through an in-depth assessment/evaluation of CBFM program, based on the national strategic action plan for sustainable forest management, at the national and regional levels. The plan entitled "Moving CBFM into the 21st Century" envisions that about nine million hectares of forest lands under CBF by 2008.

CBFM is the national strategy for sustainable development that integrates social forestry programs of the Department. CBFM started in 1995 in order to address the rising poverty in the uplands and the continued forest degradation. Under this strategy, organized local community and indigenous peoples become stewards of forest lands, that is, making them government partners in the protection, rehabilitation, development and management of the lands and at the same time granting them access and control over the resources found therein. The program provides security of tenure for at least 25 years and renewable for another 25 years for communities who are awarded the CBFM Agreement.

The CBFM adopts an implementation framework designed to address ecological, economic, and institutional concerns. On ecological concern, it aims to ensure an ecologically stable upland farms and increased forest cover, and well-established ecologically sound forest management system. On economic concern, it seeks opportunities and options to develop, increase and stabilize livelihood projects. On institutional concerns, it provides mechanisms for capability development in order to sustain the developments attained and help them enter into partnership contracts with investors from the private sector. Investors can identify varied business opportunities in CBFM communities, like eco-tourism, micro-enterprises and livelihood activities, coffee plantation establishment, bottling mineral water and even perfume. Investing in CBFM will also give them the chance to be part of sustainable forestry.