Forest Management Planning Process

ACTIVITY PROPOSAL

Title : FOREST RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANNING

I. RATIONALE:

The communal forest is an important part of the natural resources considering the goods and services we get from the forest. A forest has many uses that include energy and wood fuel production, food production, biodiversity conservation, settlement and sanctuary for birds and other wildlife, watershed, ecotourism and recreation, mineral production, industrial site among others. The forest also provides products that include timber, rattan, bamboo, medicinal plants, wildlife, resins, water and minerals. These benefits could be enjoyed as long as the forest are properly managed considering that it is renewable resource.

However, our forest resources are fast diminishing with the increasing demands for forest products together with the conversion and destruction of forest area. Most of the communal forests are already stripped of their original vegetation and converted for agricultural and residential purposes. As a consequence, these have contributed to accelerated soil erosion, siltation of rivers and waterways, shortage of woods and the extinction of flora and fauna. One cause of these destructions of our communal forests is the failure to properly manage the forest as a valuable resource.

To address these problems, LGUs are granted greater fiscal and political autonomy to manage their own resources under the Local Government Code (RA 7160). This expanded their capacity to participate in national development efforts.

Despite this greater autonomy in managing their resources, there is still a need to develop a forest resource management plan that will serve as the guide for the Local Government Units (LGUs) and local communities on managing and utilizing the forest on a sustainable basis to continuously meet the needs of the community. In line with developments, a locally responsive planning for the utilization and management of our Communal Forests becomes imperative to reconcile the initiatives of the DENR, LGUs and local communities.

II. OBJECTIVES

The activity will be conducted pursuant to JMC 98-01 which states further that during the transition period, "the DENR and the LGUs shall coordinate closely in forest protection and enforcement of forest laws and regulations." Generally, this training workshop aims to produce a forest management plan geared towards an equitable and sustainable management of the Communal Forest.

Specifically, the activity aims to achieve the following:

1. To encourage the LGU and community members to participate in the planning process;

2. To ensure that the planning process considers