The initial concept for community-based forest management in the Philippines began earnestly in the late 1980s after the newly restored democracy in the country moved toward decentralization. This newfound freedom brought out innovators within government's Department of Environment and Natural Resources previously suppressed to talk openly about how centralized forest management concentrates the resources in the hands of a few people.

In 1995, CBFM was officially adopted as a national strategy to ensure the sustainable development of forestland resources. Such development posited both challenges and opportunities in governance and democracy at the local level. The decentralization of power and authority under the Local Government Code of 1991 has given communities far greater chances of advocating their interests in terms of utilization and management of forest resources.

With supportive pieces of legislation put in place, a very optimistic situation maybe inferred of the Philippine case on CBFM. A closer look at the field will however tell us that it is not a rosy picture after all. On the Philippine Working Group's (PWG) analysis on the National CBFM Experiences 1997-2001, its findings include among others:

• CBFM and the program's impact on the country's forests cannot be illustrated at the moment;
• The federation of CBFM people's organizations is fragmented and with limited skills and leadership;
• CBFM is still not catching the interest, attention, and responsibility from local governments.

CBFM agreements now cover 5.1 million hectares, or 35 percent of the country's forestlands under the management of 4,100 peoples' organizations. The Philippines at present is going through a review of its area allocations in terms of:

• understanding and acknowledging where and why it is not working
• removing corrupt or misallocated resource use agreements, and
• supporting a greater level of community self-monitoring.

What is community management?

Under the country's Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) strategy, community management means a long-term community-led planning for sustainable utilization of forestland resources, management plan implementation, and equitable sharing of benefits for the socio-economic upliftment of community members. To forge a CBFM agreement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the community needs to be represented by a registered entity, usually a people's organization (PO) composed of various sectors from the local area. PO members should be active in all phases and aspects of forest management including site identification, formulation and implementation of a 25-year management plan, development and enforcement of internal rules, agreements, and mechanisms for the equitable sharing of responsibilities and benefits. Overall, the POs are responsible for the protection, rehabilitation and conservation of the natural resources in the CBFM area and assist the government in the protection of adjacent forestlands.

Where are the CFM areas?

In the Philippines, land is classified primarily into (1) alienable and disposable (private lands) and (2) timberland / forestland (public domain). CBFMP targets uplands and coastal lands of the public domain with communities residing within or nearby who are largely dependent on natural resources for livelihood. The 4,881 CBFM projects being implemented cover an area of 5.9 million hectares composed mostly of DENR's people-oriented forest management sites established over the past 30 years.

Anchored on the firm belief of "people first and sustainable forestry will follow," the Philippines made strides in forest management policy with the passing of landmark national laws and the issuance of DENR administrative orders outlining implementing rules over the last decade, including:

• Local Government Code (RA 7160 / 1991)
• National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act (RA 7586 / 1992)
• Comprehensive Land Use Planning (EO 72 / 1993) in local government units
• Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) (EO 263 / 1995)
• Indigenous People's Rights Act (IPRA) (RA 8371 / 1997)
• Various DENR Administrative Orders (DAOs) and Special Orders relative to the implementation of CBFM
• Joint memorandum circulars of the DENR and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) listing the co-responsibilities of field offices of the DENR and DILG and local government units.

Granting of tenure with more than 30% of the upland is a major accomplishment. However, implementation has been slow and uncoordinated, fraught with politics, the lack of appropriate training of DENR field personnel on CBFM implementation, poor leadership and management skills of POs, apathy of some LGUs, inadequate funding, and sometimes inconsistent policies and the inaction on the Sustainable Forest Management bill, sidelined by three Congresses already. The DENR, together with independent groups, is currently revising the impact of CBFM on the country's forests and forest-dependent communities since its inception in 1997 with the intention of securing greater impact.

Carood Watershed

Total land area: 20,472 ha
Forestland: n/a
Forested: 2,047 ha
Area under CBFM: 2,472 ha
Population: 50,000 +
No. of CBFM Agreements: 6

Carood watershed spans portions of six municipalities in the eastern part of Bohol, an island province in Central Philippines. Two main tributaries drain the watershed - Napo River in Alicia and Gabayan River in Candijay - which then discharge surface runoff through Carood/Matul-id River emptying into Cogtong Bay. Being the fifth largest watershed in Bohol, Carood provides water for several thousand households in the six municipalities for household needs, farms and livestock.

In 1998, as part of the initial implementation of the CBFM program, the Department of Environment and natural Resources established the Ubay-Mabini-Alicia (UMA) Watershed Sub-Project. The DENR contracted the Ubay Federated Tree Planters Association, Inc., Alicia Federated Tree Planters Association, Inc. and the Mabini Reforestation Association to undertake a comprehensive site development. Funded by a loan from the Overseas Economic Cooperation and later by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Carood's development plan includes reforestation, agro-forestry and bamboo plantation.

The biggest challenge lies in the geology of Bohol province, which is predominantly limestone in character. The forestland areas of the watershed are mostly covered by wild grass locally known as cogon (imperata cylindrical). Such poor vegetative cover contributes to erosion, flooding and periodic spontaneous combustion.

UFTPAI People's Organization

Area under CBFM: 107 ha (approved) + 460 hectares (pending)
No. of Villages Covered: 3
Year Approved: 2001
Village Population: 4,557
No. of CBFM Members: 109
Year Organized: 1998
Assisting Organizations: Argao Mountain Climbers Association, DENR-Susimo

The Ubay Federated Tree Planters Association, Inc. groups together three tree planters' organizations from barangays San Pascual, Bongbong and Benliw in the Ubay Municipality. The DENR granted UFTPAI management of 567 hectares of land, 460 ha. of which are within a civil reservation and are thus covered by a Memorandum of Agreement between the DENR, UFTPAI and the Department of Agriculture. The remaining 107 hectares located on forestland in San Pascual serve as the PO's model site for agro-forestry. With funding from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the PO has been contracted by the DENR to undertake comprehensive site development of its CBFM area. The site, like most of Ubay, is primarily used for farming and livestock raising, with much of the land covered with cogon or wild grass. Forest fires are a yearly threat to their reforestation project.

AFTPAI People's Organization

Area under CBFM: 252 ha
No. of Villages Covered: 2
Year Approved: 2001
Village Population: 2,755
No. of CBFM Members: 74
Year Organized: 1998
Assisting Organizations: Argao Mountain Climbers Association, DENR-Susimo

The Alicia Federated Tree Planters Association, Inc. includes tree planters' organizations from Cambaol and Cayacay villages in the Alicia Municipality. The area granted to AFTPAI is a good distance from their residences. Farmers are plagued with widespread flooding that inundate rice fields for days during the wet months. During dry months, members have to contend with forest fires. In 2003, fires razed around P5 million (USD 91,000) worth of trees. Investigators are looking into rebel/military-related angle, while some residents blame slash-and-burn farmers or livestock growers. In search for livelihood opportunities, some farmers have taken advantage of loans offered by a local banking institution to plant oil palm on their 50-hectare farms. This has raised concern among municipal government officials and other watershed stakeholders. They say that the proponents have no environmental compliance certificate from the DENR despite possible adverse environmental impacts of oil palm plantations.

UFTPAI & AFTPAI

PAMAS People's Organization

Area under CBFM: 597 ha
No. of Villages Covered: 1
Year Approved: 1999
Village Population: 1,298
No. of CBFM Members: 48 (1999) ; 162 (2003)
Year Organized: 1996
Assisting Organizations: DENR, USAID Coastal Resource Management Program

Pioneer members of the Panadtaran Mangrove Planters Association, Inc. started at a time of rampant illegal fishing, mangrove cutting, flooding, abandoned leased fishing areas, and lack of alternative livelihood opportunities and some social services. "Twelve years ago, we used to have big mangrove trees but there was rampant cutting of wood without any rehabilitation or replanting," recalls PAMAS president Ciriaco Cuņado. "Now in PAMAS, we try to rehabilitate the coastal environment and find ways to improve livelihood activities to ease poverty. We have planted at least 70,000 propagules ." Despite initial setbacks such as the uprooting of about 12,000 propagules planted in an abandoned fishpond, PAMAS is now recognized in Bohol as one of the more successful POs involved in natural resource management.

Members had training on environmental awareness-raising, management capacity building, and enterprise development. A Bohol-based NGO extended soft loans for mud crab culture, beekeeping and other income-generating aqua-silviculture projects. The barangay legislative council, whose members are also PAMAS officers, enacted ordinances affirming PAMAS resolutions, and allocated training funds for the organization. PAMAS is also developing a mangrove eco-tour package as income generating activity.

BOMA People's Organization

Area under CBFM: 163 ha
No. of Villages Covered: 1
Year Approved: 1999
Village Population: 1,402
No. of CBFM Members: 53
Year Organized: 1996
Assisting Organization: USAID Coastal Resource Management Program

The Boyoan Mangrove Planters Association, Inc. applied for a CBFMA as members were informed by DENR that they can take over the management of an abandoned 50-hectare fishpond. When they got the CBFM Agreement, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) prevented them from taking over the fishpond.

Now families coming from outside the village are illegally occupying the area. The issue has put the DENR and the local BFAR at loggerheads with each other with BFAR claiming that the DENR should not have included the area in BOMA's CBFMA site in the first place since it was not classified as forest land.

Currently, BOMA is beset with internal conflicts and a less cordial working relationship with the barangay council. However, with the participation of barangay chairpersons and PO presidents in the Carood Watershed Working Group, a more collaborative partnership can be forged among local stakeholders, and more effective assistance can be extended by government agencies also represented in the CWWG.

PAMAS & BOMA

ESSC

The Environmental Science for Social Change is an environmental research institute that seeks to contribute to the understanding and sustainability of the environment through the integration of scientific analysis and social processes. In Bohol, ESSC is currently implementing Water Resource Regeneration through Environmental Governance Program that is building a pioneering database on Philippine watersheds, conducting water balance studies in selected watersheds, and developing dialogue mechanisms among different watershed stakeholders. ESSC acts as secretariat for the Philippine Working Group on country resource management and facilitates many dialogues regionally and nationally on country forest management. ESSC is also the AFN partner conducting a comparative assessment of upland and coastal CBFM agreements in the Carood Watershed.

CWWG

The Carood Watershed Working Group is an informal grouping of various stakeholders of the watershed composed of mayors, planning officers, agriculturists, legislators, barangay heads in areas with CBFMAs, PO leaders, local DENR, the Bohol Environment Management Office, Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, National Irrigation Administration, Central Visayas College of Agriculture, Forest and Technology, and Environmental Legal Assistance Center. Hosting of meetings is rotated among the six municipalities with discussions ranging from their concepts of development and collaborative management to environmental concerns like oil palm plantations, fires, flooding, lack of irrigation facilities, as well as the sustainability of CBFM POs, working group capacity and the commitment of each stakeholder.

DENR and SUSIMO

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is the lead agency implementing the Community-Based Forest Management Program through its various service and field offices. The regional, provincial, and field level DENR offices are responsible for the effective implementation of the CBFM Program in their areas of jurisdiction, in coordination with concerned local government units, other government agencies and NGOs or private sector groups.

The Sub-Project Site Management Office (SUSIMO) ensures the implementation and management of the DENR projects on-site, such as the Ubay-Mabini-Alicia (UMA) Watershed Sub-Project in Bohol with a P19 million loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for comprehensive site development.

Provincial Government of Bohol and BEMO

The Bohol Provincial Government enacted in 1998 the country's first provincial environment code providing the framework for Bohol's development thrust as an eco-cultural tourist destination and an agro-industrial province. Several years of research,- multi-sectoral consultations, technical working group meetings and a Provincial Environment Summit went into its crafting.

The Bohol Environment Code mandated the creation of a Bohol Environment Management Office within the provincial government to oversee the implementation of the Code's provisions encompassing coastal, mineral, forest, and water resources management; solid and liquid waste management, air and noise pollution control, environmental impact assessment, land use planning and ecotourism.