THE PHILIPPINES will open 1.2 million hectares of “denuded” forest land to private investors, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.
Half of the 1.2 million hectares of land to be offered to the private sector beginning June 26 has been set aside for reforestation ventures, Environment Undersecretary Carlos Primo David told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of a biodiversity forum.
“You need to reforest the half, and then you utilize the other half,” he said.
The government will open another one million hectares of land every year until 2027.
The government’s previous purely conservation-focused approach does not work, Mr. David said, noting that it is impossible for the government to reforest one million hectares a year.
“This is now a scheme wherein we involve the private sector and other groups… to reforest the area,” he said. “And for some, they need some economic activity to sustain that.”
Asked whether private partners will need to obtain free, prior and informed consent, a prerequisite for building on indigenous land, Mr. David said: “Half of the 1.2 million hectares is outside IP (indigenous people) areas.”
The DENR said in March that the national greening program had targeted the planting of 1.5 billion seedlings between 2011 and 2015.
“However, data shows that between 2011 and 2023, 1.8 billion seedlings had been planted,” it said. “Sadly, survivability was at best between 60% to 80%.”
The DENR seeks to grow five million trees from non-invasive species by 2028.
Mr. David said the private firms participating in the new reforestation program are involved in agro-forestry, timber production, and the carbon credits market, he said.
Participants also include businesses involved in eco-tourism and renewable energy, he added.
He said the parcels of land available will be posted on an online portal. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
