Philippine Forestry Development Forum June 23, 2005 ADB Auditorium

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Philippine Forestry Development ForumJune 2-3,
2005ADB Auditorium

• RICARDO M. UMALI
• President
• Sustainable Ecosystems International Corp.
• Society of Filipino Foresters Inc.

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BACKGROUND

• An organized corporation under Philippine Laws
  and registered in the Securities and Exchange
  Commission (SEC) on June 23, 1958.
• Holder of Timber License Agreement (TLA) No.
  56-1 approved on June 1986 and will expire on
  June 2011.
• Original holder of Ordinary Timber License (OTL)
  No. 1356-59 issued in February 1959 ad converted
  into (TLA) No. 56 in December 1961.
• Per FAO No. 11, the adjacent concession areas
  namely Mindanao Mahogany Corporation, holder of
  TLA No. 494 and Gonzalo Puyat Sons, Inc. with
  TLA No. 55 were merged with SUDECOR in September
  1978 and July 1981

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BACKGROUND

• Covers a total area of 75,671 hectares
• Geographically located within coordinates 125
  47 to 126º 09 East Longitude and 08º 56 to
  09º 14 North Latitude.
• Provincial jurisdiction of Surigao del Sur, a
  coastal province of CARAGA Region located on
  the northeastern coast of Mindanao.
• Covers the municipalities of Madrid, Lanuza,
  Cortes, Tandag, Tago, Carmen and San Miguel.
• Approximately 809 and 260 kilometers away from
  Manila and Cebu on a general direction of 138º
  and 117º, respectively.

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SUDECOR TLA
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Intact Permanent Forest

• Managed as permanent forest for more than 40
  years
• Adheres to prescribed forestry laws, rules and
  regulations of government
• 54,247 hectares or about 71.7 of adequately
  stocked Production Zone
• 20,775 hectares or 27.5 of Protection Zone
  under NIPAS not subject to harvest
• About 92 of the total TLA area still covered
  by Dipterocarp and associated species

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ENABLING POLICY ENVIRONMENT

• The key elements in the management of TLA are
  included in the various regulations/programs
  designed to attain economic viability/sustainabili
  ty of the forest resources ecological
  sustainability of the forest ecosystem and
  sustainable forest-dependent communities.
• PD 705 as amended
• Philippine selective logging system manual
• EIA Law
• NIPAS Law
• IPRA Law
• EO CBFM, EO 318
• Various DENR AO

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The process of managing forest to achieve one or
more clearly specified objectives of management
with regard to the production of a continuous
flow of desired forest products and services
without undue reduction of its inherent values
and future productivity and without undue
undesirable effects on the physical and social
environment.ITTO
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PLANNING BEST PRACTICES

• Model Medium Term Forest Management Plan covering
  CY 1994-2003 prepared by the DENR RP-GERMAN
  Integrated Rainforest Management Project and
  approved by DENR in July 1994
• Integrated Operations Plan (IOP) approved by the
  RED on an annual, biennial, or 5-year basis.
  Operating under a 5-year IOP (2004-2009)
• Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued
  on12 March 1998 and renewed on March 2004 with
  validity period of seven (7) years coterminous
  with expiry of the TLA on 2011.
• 25-yr Sustainable Forest Management Plan approved
  by the DENR on October 2003 and now serves as
  basis for the medium-tem and long-term plans.

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• Operates only on cutting areas inside the
  designated APLO located inside the operable
  production forest areas with less than 50 slope
  gradient.
• Does not operate in forest protection areas with
  slope gradient of more than 50.
• Has availed of skyline machines as prescribed by
  the government in order to minimize soil
  disturbances and residual damage

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SILVICULTURAL PRACTICES

• LOGGING IN SECONDARY FOREST
• Pre-determined regulated cut in terms of
  Allowable Cutting Area (ACA) and/or Allowable
  Annual Cut (AAC) as prescribed by the Philippine
  Selective Logging System (PSLS)
• The remaining 2nd growth forests still intact
  and considered operable with adequately stocked
  logged-over areas.
• No re-logging activities conducted in the
  younger stands of cut-over forests before
  reaching the right economic rotation age at 35
  Years Elapsed After Logging (YEAL).

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SILVICULTURAL PRACTICES

• Cutting of only the mature trees that have
  reached merchantable sizes as prescribed by the
  PSLS,
• Adequate number of healthy residuals are left
  to grow as potential crop trees in the production
  forest.
• Post-harvesting TSI leave sufficient number of
  high-quality timber trees that can be harvested
  on 3rd cyclic cut
• Remaining forest stands after repeated timber
  harvesting operations are duly protected

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Seedlings for reforestation at SUDECOR nursery
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Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) SUDECOR, S-263
Block 651, after 3rd rotation

• Areas scheduled for rehabilitation determined
  only after conducting area assessment surveys
  and consultations with the ICCs during the early
  months of rehabilitation implementation
• Productive brushland areas enriched with
  high-value indigenous species thru the Assisted
  Natural Regeneration method
• Adequate number of desirable lauan species and
  other lesser-known species released from soil,
  water, and light competition thru the TSI method.
  
• Newly logged-over areas treated with
  post-harvesting TSI.

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• Enrichment planting is conducted in about 163 ha
  of open areas as result of timber harvesting
  operations on log landings, roadsides, cableways
  and skidways
• IOP 2004-09 prescribes the supplemental planting
  of cleared areas averaging 136.9 hectares per
  year.

TSI SUDECOR, S-263 Block 651, PCT of
Philippine Mahagony PCI Tangila Shorea
polyspermum
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• Timber Harvesting Operations
• Merchantable trees that have reached maturity
  age having at least 60 cm dbh are extracted
  leaving adequate residual trees and natural
  regenerations
• The harvest cut is regulated by area and
  volume control. The annual allowable cut (AAC) is
  the maximum possible harvest in any year.
• No cutting beyond AAC is made even if annual
  cutting area (ACA) has not all been logged yet.
• Based on land use zoning, the net area for
  production is 36,216 ha. Using a cutting cycle
  of 35 years, the ACA is 1,035 ha.

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• Can continue to harvest in sufficient areas
  until license expires in 2011 with 50-60 cum /ha
  cut

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Conservation Practices

• Patches of open areas cleared for timber
  extraction immediately rehabilitated thru proper
  soil erosion control methods and supplemental
  planting
• Preserving and protecting virgin forests, mossy
  forests, and sub-marginal areas to conserve the
  species richness of the primary forests and
  protect biological diversity
• Adopts the multiple-use concept of forest
  management to address environmental issues in
  terms of conserving bio-diversity, protection of
  the watershed, wildlife and timber production
  areas.

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• Other practices to protect the environment
• No logging operation is conducted within the
  National Integrated Protected Area System
  (NIPAS)
• b. Adequate protection measures to prevent
  encroachments, vandalism, illegal lumbering,
  kaingin-making and other forms of forest offences
  
• c. Regulate the hunting of birds and mammals
  and protect the areas within 1 Km radius
  where endangered bird species like the
  Philippine Eagle are discovered to be nesting
• d. Prohibit gathering of minor forest products,
  including rattan, orchids and other
  rare/endangered floral and faunal species unless
  given permit by the authorities
• e. Preserve natural landscape and spots with
  potential tourist attraction, aesthetic and
  recreational values and
• f. Assist in the identification and delineation
  of the IPAS, such as the survey and putting up of
  monuments or placards along the boundaries of
  virgin forest areas

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6 watersheds in SUDECOR TLA

• Straddles across 6 major watersheds, namely
  Tago, Tandag, Caracan, Ipil, Kilop and Sibahay
  that all drain to the Pacific Ocean
• More than 68 or 51,107 ha of SUDECOR are located
  inside the Tago watershed, the largest of the 6
  watersheds where the concession area is located

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Watershed Management

• Address major environmental issues and concerns
  related to soil erosion, river siltation and
  sedimentation of farmlands, lack of water for
  various uses
• Engineering and vegetative measures of erosion
  control to prevent/arrest degradation of the
  biological system.
• Sufficient cross culverts are installed across
  the main roads, in addition to the side drainage
  canals
• , Rockwalls are built but limited to areas
  with abundant rocks for the stabilization of
  hillsides and slopes.
• Vegetative measure of slope stabilization
  is adopted to reduce project cost and expenses,
  especially on the secondary roads.

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Environmental Compliance

• Complied with the required environmental impact
  assessment prescribed by the government under the
  EIA Law
• Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Report is
  submitted by the Company as a result of a
  full-blown Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• The EIS Report include the Environmental
  Management and Monitoring Plan, Runoff Management
  Plan , and Social Development Plan.
• More detailed coverage of the EIS Report
  includes the environmental settings, project
  description, impact assessment and environmental
  management measures to mitigate the adverse
  impacts of the timber harvesting operation as
  well as the related road-building and forestry
  operations.

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Environmental Compliance

• First ECC issued on March 12, 1998.
• The ECC stipulated the terms and conditions for
  logging operations, and road construction
  /rehabilitation and related timber extraction
  processes on the remaining operable residual
  forest areas
• The latest ECC was issued in 2003 and will end
  in 2011.

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Share of LGUs from SUDECOR Forest Charges
Socio-Economic Services

• 2001- 2002
• Total Forest Charges P 48.75 m
• LGU Share 19.5 m
• Province 3.9 m
• Municipalities 8.77 m
• Barangays 6.83 m

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SOCIAL SERVICES
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EMPLOYMENT Forest operations 431 Wood
processing 513 Development activities P 3M
annual contract to Manobos and other settlers
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Employment of Local Residents by SUDECOR

• Indigenous Peoples Employed
• 2000 2001 482
• 2001-2002 269
• Include development
• contractors and
• employees in
• forest operations

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TECHNOLOGIES AND RESEARCH PROGRAMS
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• INVOLVEMENT OF STAKEHOLDERS
• Planning and Decision- making
• Contract Work
• Participatory Consultations
• IEC Activities

Consultation with Stakeholders
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Other Related Forest Development Practices

• Reforestation Agro-forestry
• Hillsides dominated by brushes, shrubs and
  grasses given priority in the reforestation and
  enrichment/agro-forestry program
• Narra primarily used for reforestation
  purposes, fast-growing species like Mangium,
  Mahogany, or even rubber trees and other
  fruit-bearing trees used as agro-forestry crops
  in cultivated lands within the watershed areas

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Community-Based Forest Management

• Assist in the identification and survey of
  proposed CBFM project sites within or
  adjacent to the concession
• Enlist the active participation of upland
  households in agro-forestry projects
• Assist and encourage upland dwellers to
  participate in the CBFM program of government
• Provide necessary technical assistance in
  acquiring the stewardship agreements and
  certificates from the government.

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Foreign Assisted Projects

• Focus on biodiversity conservation,
  environmentally friendly logging techniques, SFM
  planning, collaborative forest management,
  application of criteria and indicators, forest
  auditing, and carbon sequestration.
• RP-German Timber Stand Improvement Project in
  1987-89
• Timber Stand Improvement Pilot Study
• TSI Compatible Timber Harvesting and Utilization
  Study
• RP-German Dipterocarp Forest Management Project
  in 1989-91
• Line Planting Trials of High Quality Species
• Rattan Plantation Development Trials in
  Logged-over Dipterocarp Forest
• RP-German Dipterocarp Integrated Rainforest
  Management Project in 1991-94
• Cable Crane Yarding System Trial Harvesting Study

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• Project Rationale and Overall Objective

• Harness the capacity of production forests to
  contribute to the overall effort of conserving
  biodiversity.

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BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENTFactors Affecting
Biodiversity
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MAIN FINDINGS

• Given enough time a logged over area is able to
  recover naturally approximating the level of
  biodiversity of the pre-harvesting condition

• This means that the previous management regimes
  did not cause significant decline in the level of
  biodiversity in the logged over areas

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1996
2001
1996 and 2001 satellite image interpretation of
SUDECOR TLA shows a sustainable forest management
unit with old growth and secondary forests almost
intact. A 5-year intensive ITTO / GOP
biodiversity studies reveal that logging
operations have no significant adverse impact on
biodiversity supporting the theory that timber
production can be compatible with biodiversity
and the environment in general.
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REVISED MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE SUDECOR
CONCESSION AREA
ITTO-GOP PD 35/96 Rev. 2(F) Conservation and
Maintenance of Biological Diversity in Tropical
Forests Managed Primarily for Timber Production,
Surigao del Sur, Philippines
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Plan Strategies and Approaches for SFM

• GENERAL STRATEGIES
• Integrated Resources inventory
• Land use allocation / zoning
• Co-management strategies
• Research and monitoring systems
• SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
• Protection zones
• Production zones
• SPECIFIC STRATEGIES PER STRATUM
• Years elapsed after logging to bring back to
  approximate original condition

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• CO-MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
• Intended to broaden the involvement of the local
  communities in SFM by empowering them
• IEC / technical assistance in managing communal
  forests and ancestral lands

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CO-MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Recognition of valid rights of IPs
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TIMBER HARVESTING Protection of all Critical
Biodiversity Conservation Areas (CBCA )(4,313 ha)
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TIMBER HARVESTING Pre-logging inventory and tree
marking

• Inventory of seedlings (ANR needed in all strata
  with premium sp seedlings of only between 7-25
  except gt 20 YEAL
• Whenever feasible, one mother tree of each
  species in a 1-ha sub-unit marked as residual

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• TIMBER HARVESTING
• Road Construction
• Preferential use of old roads

• Minimize disturbance of areas with signs of
  wildlife
• Proper scheduling of road construction

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TIMBER HARVESTING Road Construction

• Proper road location to avoid negative control
  points
• Prompt rehabilitation of roads that are no longer
  needed
• Regular maintenance and stabilization of roads
• Proper disposal of spoils

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IMPACTS OF THE PLAN
ON BIODIVERSITY Recommended management
prescriptions will improve the conservation of
biodiversity in the area Enhancing the
maintenance of genetic diversity of population of
timber trees
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ON BIODIVERSITY
Increase in the protection areas will increase
not only areas that are undisturbed but also
areas that are potentially ideal as refuge for
displaced or disturbed wildlife and as sources of
genetic materials for regeneration and genetic
improvement
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• ON SOIL AND WATER
• Soil erosion will decrease by about 0.7
  tons/ha/yr
• Runoff from the various watersheds will slightly
  decrease
• Sediment yield could decrease by almost 35 with
  the reduction of sediment delivery ratio

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IMPACTS OF THE PLAN
On Carbon Stocks
SOC Soil Organic Carbon 1 Mg 1 ton
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Key Recommendations

• FACTORS FOR CONTINUATION
• A natural SDU from coastal to forest ecosystems
  w/ 6 watersheds
• Intact forest cover including Sudecor area
  secondary forest mgt
• IP population and other communities
• Area for many SFM studies including ITTO Phase I
  and carbon sequestration
• Opportunities for all types of forest users and
  institutional collaboration
• SFM plan for implementation up to 2011 and beyond

PD 167/02 Rev.2(F) Integration of FMU into SDU
through collaborative forest management in
Surigao del Sur, RP
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ORIGIN

• Follow-up of the 5-year ITTO Project PD 35/96
  Rev.2(F) Conservation and Maintenance of
  Biological Diversity in Tropical Forests
  Primarily Managed Primarily for Timber
  Production, Surigao del Sur, Philippines PD
  35-96 Rev. 2(F) which was completed July 2002.
• Need to translate SFM on ground implementation
• Attempts to pioneer planning and implementation
  of sustainable forest management in a
  timber-based mountain to coast sustainable
  development unit.

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SDU (225,653 242,266 Has.)
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The PROJECT will showcase action planning and
implementation of sustainable forest management
within a sustainable development unit delineated
based on the watershed ecosystem framework
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COLLABORATIVE MANAGEMENT
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Collaborative Forest Management in SUDECOR

• Manobo tribes sharing equitable benefits from
  forests

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PHILIPPINE INITIATIVE

• ITTO - FMB
• PRE-PROJECT
• PROJECT ON FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF
• CI SYSTEM
• PROJECT ON ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CI
  SYSTEM

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A CRITERION IS AN ASPECT CONSIDERED IMPORTANT
BY WHICH SFM MAYBE ASSESSED.AN INDICATOR IS A
QUANTITATIVE, QUALITATIVE OR DESCRIPTIVE
ATTRIBUTE OF A CRITERION THAT, WHEN PERIODICALLY
MEASURED OR MONITORED, INDICATES THE DIRECTION OF
CHANGE.CI ARE TOOLS FOR ASSESSING TRENDS IN
CONDITION AND MANAGEMENT OF FORESTS IN A NATION,
OR AT FMU
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Formulation of Philippine C and I system
Review Field test ITTO CI
Adoption of Philippine C and I system
Draft manual / guidelines for C and I
Stakeholders Decision-makers consultations
Review Policies Institutions
Formulate applicable audit system
Draft manual for audit of C and I
External Timber certification
Pilot test audit system In 3 FMU
Data Base MIS
Finalize audit system
National SFM certification
Train forest managers
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NATIONAL LEVEL REPORT - BASELINE

• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Acronyms (a-b)
• Summary of Highlights (i-xiv)
• Questionnaire (1-38)
• Criterion 1 Enabling Conditions for Sustainable
  Forest Management 1
• Criterion 2 Forest Resource Security 12
• Criterion 3 Forest Ecosystem Health
• and Condition 15
• Criterion 4 Flow of Forest Products 17
  
• Criterion 5 Biological Diversity 25
• Criterion 6 Soil and Water 30
• Criterion 7 Economic, Social and
• Cultural Aspects 32

FMU Report SUDECOR
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ITTO SPIN - OFF TRAINING ACTIVITIES
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VALIDATION OF SUDECOR BEST PRACTICES

• AERIAL RECONNAISANCE
• FIELD SCIENTIFIC STUDIES
• FOREST AUDITING

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Flight over the Sudecor concession area
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Sudecor log area 2002
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Sudecor main logging road
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Sudecor logged-over forest area, Logging road
become invisible from air
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Sudecor logging road in recent logging area
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Sudecor logged-over forest area, Appearence of
secondary species
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Auditing Framework for SFM
Based on Nsenkyiere Simula 2000, Appanah
Kleine 2001
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AUDIT PROCEDURE
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SCORING SYSTEM
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RESULTS OF PILOT SFM AUDIT

• SUDECOR was recently audited as one of the pilot
  sites of the DENR-ITTO project entitled Adoption
  and Implementation of Appropriate System of
  Criteria and Indicators (CI) for Sustainable
  Forest Management (SFM) in the Philippines PD
  225/03 Rev. 1 (F)
• The audit results confirmed that the best
  practices of SUDECOR are indeed working on the
  ground towards SFM.
• The overall SFM performance is considered good
  (highest rating under a weighted scheme
  compatible with international certification of
  sustainable forest sources), having obtained a
  total score of 142 points within range of good
  performance from 103-153.
• SUDECOR was able to meet most of the norms
  provided for by the criteria and indicators for
  SFM. SUDECOR gathered full points for criteria
  2, 3, and 6, and relatively good scores for the
  rest of the criteria.

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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• The best forestry practices of the SUDECOR TLA
  are a showcase of how SFM should be implemented
  on the ground.
• Not mere compliance to existing forestry rules
  and regulations but a solid determination to
  prove that Tropical forests can be managed in
  perpetuity for various objectives for all
  generations to come.
• The approved 25-year SFM Plan of the TLA, used as
  basis for integrated annual operation, provides
  the necessary framework and implementation
  guidelines for proper execution of the Philippine
  selective logging system where only the profits
  from sustainable growth are harvested.

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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• Forest production has been demonstrated to
  enhance environmental amenities including
  biodiversity and watershed values resulting to a
  larger economic return accruing to society in
  general.
• The present excellent condition of the forest
  cover after 40 years of logging into its 3rd
  cycle of harvest is attainable
• Classic example of SFM demonstrates the need to
  support the continuous operations of sustainable
  forest management units like SUDECOR.

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What experts say about SUDECOR experience

• DR. JUAN ADOLFO V. REVILLA
• Renowned International Forest Management Expert
  and Consultant, former
• Dean of the U.P. College of Forestry, and Team
  Leader of ITTO Projects
• The SUDECOR forestry situation presents a rare
  and unique opportunity to demonstrate not only
  the compatibility of sustainable forest
  production and biodiversity conservation but also
  pioneering forest management systems within the
  broader context of sustainable watershed
  development.
• The SUDECOR case also provides another rare and
  unique opportunity to develop and
  demonstrate/validate new systems to supplant the
  forest licensing system for timely implementation
  before Timber Licensing Agreements (TLAs) expire
  in 2011.

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• DR. REX VICTOR O. CRUZ
• Professor, UP College of Forestry Natural
  Resources Noted watershed expert
• SUDECOR TLA is a living testimony to the reality
  of sustainable forest resources amid development.
  It can make a believer out of a skeptic that
  sustainability is an attainable goal in forest
  resources management. It demonstrates that the
  forest has astounding ability to regenerate
  itself after certain degrees of perturbations
  only if a committed and conscientious forest
  management sustains the flow of goods and
  services from the forest to society.
• The SUDECOR concession area affirms the soundness
  of selective logging system once properly
  implemented.

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• DR. DANIEL A. LAGUNZAD
• Professor, UP Institute of Biology and Herbarium,
  Diliman
• In Surigao forests, people and nature are
  always part of the biodiversity calculations
  one can't exist without the other.
• At the height of public debate over
  environmental degradation, the current state of
  Surigao forests may be a good argument that
  sustainable forest management is actually
  possible.
• DR. ROBERTO P. RUBIO
• Professor of Zoology of the UP College of
  Forestry and Natural Resources
• Animal diversity indices were calculated in all
  the identified strata of the SUDECOR concession.
  Surprisingly, high species diversity of animals
  was observed in newly recovering logged over
  areas up to at least 15 years. This can only
  mean that disturbed habitats due to logging are
  able to recover fast enough to support a good
  number of wildlife species. Based on this
  evidence, one could conclude that logging, if
  properly implemented, is still compatible with
  conserving wildlife.

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Global recognition as model forest for SFM

• Earth Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa
  (September 2002)
• United Nations Forum on Forests in Geneva,
  Switzerland (UNFF-3rd Session, May 2003)
• International Tropical Timber Council, 34th
  Session,(12 17 May 2003) Panama City, Panama
• Nominated to FAO Search For Excellence
  Exemplary Forest Management In The Asia-pacific
  Region , 2002

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Recommendations

• Replication and implementation of the SUDECOR 25
  - year Sustainable Forest Management Plan.
• The SUDECOR experience along with similar
  sustainable forest management units should be
  used as basis for continuous logging operations
  on areas proven sustainable.
• SUDECOR has proven at pilot scale that it can
  pass forest auditing using a comprehensive set of
  Philippine criteria and indicators for SFM.
• Formulate the best option for future management
  of expiring TLAs.

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Thank You !!