Project/activity information

In order to secure the long-term stability of the Philippine forest resources, the Government of the Philippines re-assessed its prerogatives and shifted to Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) as its main policy thrust. It has since become the principal mandate of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and is the principal aspect of all its activities involving the development, conservation and protection of forest resources.

To track the progress towards achieving SFM, the DENR has, as an initial step, formulated criteria and indicators called the Environmental Performance Monitoring (EPM) System for community-based forest management units. The tool can be used to determine forest quality and other environmental quality parameters and is currently being tested in selected CBFM projects. The Department has likewise reviewed the C&I template developed by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and is presently evaluating the Manual for the Application of Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests developed by ITTO.

The Pre-project proposal comes on the heels of the foregoing activities and is envisioned to further reinforce the framework for the countrys development outlined in the Philippine Strategy for Sustainable Development. With the pre-project proposal the Philippines hopes to promote sustainable management of its forest resources in accordance with the objective of ITTO by formulating criteria and indicators for SFM at the national and forest management unit levels and developing an action program for the application of SFM C&I in the Philippines.