Philippine Reforestation: 1994-2009 Analysis

• The Philippines is an archipelago that consists of 7,107 islands.
• Agriculture plays a huge role in the country's economy.
• Total land area is 30 million hectares.
• Agriculture land areas declined to 13.32 million hectares in 2018.
• The 2020 total land area used for agricultural crop cultivation was approximately 13.42 million hectares.
• The land area used for agricultural crop cultivation was mainly used for cultivating palay, corn and coconut.
• The population of the Philippines as of August 30, 2022 was 115,617,689.
• The UN estimate for the population as of July 1, 2022 was 115,559,009.
• The population estimate as of January 31, 2025 was 116,395,982.
• The population estimate as of February 14, 2025 was 116,432,198.
• The total land area is 298,170 sq km or 115,124 sq miles.
• 49.3% of the population is urban, which equals 57,606,092 people in 2025.
• Median age in the Philippines is 26.1 years.

Philippines Population Forecast for:

• 2030: 121,408,895 ; 52.6% Urban Population
• 2035: 125,740,971 ; 56.2% Urban Population
• 2040: 129,546,659 ; 60.3% Urban Population
• 2045: 132,492,032 ; 64.8% Urban Population
• 2050: 134,373,439 ; 69.6% Urban Population

Environment & Human Development Conceptual Framework:

• The carrying capacity of the environment sets the limits for providing services.
• Key environmental and economic status indicators are manifested.
• Ecosystem functions and services influence public and private decisions, priorities, and behavior.
• Human development is consequently affected.
• The dimensions of empowerment, sustainability, human security, individual well-being, civil and community well-being, demographic trends, decent work, education, and health are affected.
• Indicators of climate change impinge upon the green, blue, and brown environments.
• The state of human development also influences public and private sector behavior or human activities.
• Public and private sector behavior or human activities in turn impact the environment.

Key Issues Per Environment and Per Ecosystem:

• Green includes the forest ecosystem, critical habitats and biodiversity, and the agricultural ecosystem.
• Blue covers water resources such as watersheds, water supply, and the coastal and marine ecosystems.
• Brown includes the urban ecosystem, water and air quality, solid wastes, toxic and hazardous wastes and the activities of industries.

Green - Forest Ecosystem:

• Declining forest cover.
• Forested lands shrinking.
• Forestland degradation.
• Watershed degradation.
• Compromised integrity of watersheds.

Blue - Groundwater and Freshwater Ecosystem:

• Increased run-off from agricultural lands.
• Limited aquifer recharge.
• Saltwater intrusion into wells and aquifers, especially in coastal areas.
• Threatened habitats of inland fishery resources due to aquaculture and other activities.

Brown - Urban Ecosystem: Air Quality:

• Declining air quality in Metro Manila and key urban centers.

Critical Habitats and Biodiversity:

• Loss of critical habitats.
• Loss of biodiversity.
• Unique biodiversity under severe pressure.
• Coastal and marine resources under threat.
• Loss of natural habitats that support biodiversity.

Water Supply Issues:

• Water supply unable to keep up with demand.
• Competing water uses.
• Water is becoming scarcer.
• Insufficient storage and distribution of water to deficient area.

Urban Ecosystem - Water Quality:

• Declining water quality in lakes, rivers, and coastal waters.

Agriculture:

• Land conversion and decreasing soil fertility.
• Overuse of chemical inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and soil erosion.
• Quality of farmland is deteriorating.
• Inappropriate and unsustainable land use and agricultural practices in upland areas.

Coastal and Marine Environments:

• Declining coastal and marine resources because of overfishing and destructive fishing methods.
• Environmental degradation of nearshore coastal areas from sedimentation from upstream sources.
• Overexploitation of fisheries and permanent loss of coastal ecosystems from changes in land use.
• Changes in land use include urbanization, industrialization, and other land conversion, including aquaculture.

Solid and Hazardous Wastes, Toxic Chemicals and Other Pollutants:

• Increased waste generation and improper waste management.
• Solid waste remains a major source of pollutants.
• Hazardous wastes and toxic chemicals have caused health risks.
• Persistent organic pollutants present.
• Depletion of the ozone layer.
• Acid deposition.

Global Environment:

• Issues with climate change and others covered by Multilateral Environmental Agreements.
• Extreme vulnerability to environmental hazards and climate-related hazards.
• Impacts of extreme weather events and climate change.

Institutional Issues:

• Implementation is confused by overlapping and conflicting politics.
• A lack of government capacity for resource management like overlapping jurisdictions, technical expertise, and information systems.
• Enforcement of environmental law and procedures is inadequate.
• Absence of a financing strategy for environment and natural resources programs, and climate change adaption.

Green Environment - Forest Ecosystem:

• Forest resource degradation has been a recurring issue for decades, especially for commercially attractive forests.
• These include old-growth forests, pine forests, rattan forests, mangroves (WB, 2009).
• High rural populations increase due to high fertility and in-migration, poverty and deforestation (2011-2016 Medium Term Philippine Development Plan).
• 14.19 million ha or 47% are certified alienable and Disposable (A & D) lands.
• 15.81 million ha or 53% are total forestlands.
• 15.05 million ha of total classified forestlands.
• 3.27 million ha or 22% of the total classified forestlands are established forest reserves
• 10.056 million ha or 69% are established timberland.
• 1.34 million ha are national parks, game refuge, bird sanctuaries and wilderness areas.
• 0.126 million ha are military and naval reservations.
• 0.166 million ha are civil reservation
• 0.091 million ha are fishponds.
• Forest cover declined from about 21 million ha, or 70% of the total land area in 1900 to only 5.4 million ha, to about 18.3% in 1988. (ADB 5th CEA, 2008).
• The deforestation rate in the 1980s was about 316,000 ha per year (DENR).
• The deforestation rate decreased to about 89,000 ha per year in the 1990s (FAO 2005).
• The leading causes of deforestation include land conversion, shifting cultivation, forest fires, over-logging, illegal logging and natural causes such as typhoons, strong winds and forest fires.
• From 2006 to 2008, damages from forest fires amounted to PhP 33 million (DENR Compendium of ENR Statistics for Operations and Management (2000-2008).
• From, 1994 to 2009, reforestation averaged 36,358 ha per year.
• 24,081 ha or 66.2% planted by the government sector led by the DENR.
• 12,277 ha or 33.8% planted by the non-government sector, involves timber licensees, holders of forest tenurial instruments, and other private organizations.
• More than 200,000 ha were reforested in the 2000s with about 43,610 ha reforested in 2008.
• The Cordillera Administrative Region posted the largest area reforested in 2009 with 7,775 ha (14%).
• 6,042 ha (11%) reforested by Region 5 in 2009.
• The Philippines ranks 11th among 89 tropical countries for lowest per capita forest area.

Environment Framework - Philippine Development Plan: 2011-2016:

• Improved conservation, protection and rehabilitation of natural resources.
• Improved environmental quality for a cleaner and healthier environment.
• Enhanced resilience of natural systems and improved adaptive capacities of human communities to environmental hazards including climate related risk.

Forest Management Situation:

• Philippine forests cover 7.2 million ha or 24% of the country's land area.
• 8 million ha of forestlands are degraded, accounting for 26% of the land area.

Government Actions for Forest Management:

• Total log ban in natural forests to conserve & protect, as per Ε.Ο. 23.
• Creation of the National Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force.
• Confiscation of 10.6 M bd. ft. of logs/lumber valued at P 317 M.
• Filed 269 cases for illegal logging
• Closed 215 wood processing plants.
• Established National Greening Program, a reforestation initiative: E.O. 26.
• Planted is 1.5 B trees in 1.5 M ha in 6 years (27.8% higher than past 50 years).
• Target for 2011 was 50 M trees in 100,000 ha.

Clean Air:

• Major urban centers are polluted.
• Total Suspended Particulates (TSP) in Metro Manila is 166 micrograms/normal cubic meters (µg/Ncm) in the 1st half of 2010.
• TSP is 84% beyond the WHO standard of 90µg/Ncm.
• Other polluted cities include San Fernando, Calapan, Cebu, Zamboanga and Davao.

Clean Water:

• Waterways/esteros in significant urban centers unfit for human activity.
• Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) for 19 major rivers in 2010 at 27 milligrams/liter, 4x higher than the standard at 7 mg/L.
• Actions done were to initiate Adopt an Estero Program.
• 226 major companies have adopted waterways nationwide, including Jollibee, San Miguel Foundation, Toyota, and Masinloc Power Corp.
• Actions taken to reduce solid waste.
• Developed a requirement for the Philippine Plastic Industry is to develop programs for retrieval/collection/recycling of plastics.
• Launched Reusable Bag Campaign for Greener Environment with major malls and supermarkets.
• Agreement with 11 Metro Manila LGUs for solid waste management systems.

Geohazard:

• Philippines is prone to natural disasters due to geographic location & geological attributes.
• Disasters include landslides, flooding, earthquakes, tsunami, etc.
• Mapped geo-hazards of all provinces/cities/municipalities at 1:50,000 scale.
• Distributed 65,000 map sheets to all LGUs.
• Detailed mapping started for 88 landslide-prone cities/municipalities (scale of 1:10,000).
• Conducted a coastal geo-hazard assessment of 46 coastal municipalities.

Mineral Reforms:

• The "use it or lose it" policy started to rid applications of inactive mining.
• An additional 5.2 M ha have been opened for investors, resulting from cleansing/denial of 2,136 pending and idle mining applications, which amounts fo 97% of the total applications.
• Suspended acceptance and processing of new mining applications to ensure cleansing of applications.
• Cleansing the remaining idle mining applications still happening under the "use it or lose it" policy.

Environment Framework Philosophy

• The State must protect and advance the people's right to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.
• SECTION 16 ARTICLE II, 1987 Philippine Constitution.

Analysis of the Philippine reforestation efforts from 1994 to 2009, focusing on government-led initiatives. Key aspects include average annual reforested area, peak reforestation years, and regional contributions. It also covers the Philippines' ranking in per capita forest area among tropical countries.