Law against Illegal Logging Philippines

In the 1960s and 1970s, the timber industry experienced a boom,[7] with the industry reaching its peak during the era of President Ferdinand Marcos. [8] Public corruption is also a major problem. Because poverty is so prevalent in the Philippines, some law enforcement officials accept bribes from people who engage in illegal activities – including illegal logging. This means that the police not only turn the other way, knowing that the forests are being destroyed, but somehow «protect» the loggers by pretending that the area in which they work is free [5]. Illegal logging damages the forest ecosystem in the Philippines, which undermines the protective function of forests. Forest deterioration causes landslides and flooding after heavy monsoon rains. These natural disasters result in the mass death of citizens and the loss of livelihoods. While the animist Pala`wan believe that the Tau`t Kekeywan are powerful spirits who can protect Domadoway from outside forces, Mata says that times are changing and they will not leave the matter to fate. Determined to stand on his own, he said the Pala`wan would continue their fight against mining. SEP imposed a province-wide ban on commercial logging, designating natural forests, high mountain areas, threatened species habitats, and other ecologically significant areas as «maximum protection areas» or «core areas» where all tribal activities except traditional tribal activities are prohibited. In the Philippines, weak governance is the main contributor to illegal logging.

Meanwhile, illegal logging encourages corruption in forest regions due to the importance of illegal revenues for officials[5]. According to Mata, residents are alarmed not only by illegal logging, but also by what they fear: a resurgence of plans to dismantle the area that the Pala`wan have been fighting for decades. The government regularly granted logging concessions of less than ten years. Since it takes 30 to 35 years for a second growing forest to mature, loggers had no incentive to replant. To make matters worse, lump sum royalties encouraged loggers to remove only the most valuable species. A horrible 40 percent of the timber that can never leave the forests, but rotted after being damaged during deforestation, or was burned on the spot. The unsurprising result of these and related measures is that of the 17 million hectares of closed forests that flourished at the turn of the century, only 1.2 million remain today. Under Marcos, logging played an increasingly central role in the Philippine economy. [9] After martial law was imposed in 1972, Marcos granted concessions for large tracts of land to his high-ranking military officers, cronies,[10] and relatives. [11] The government encouraged timber exports to Japan due to growing demand for timber during Japan`s rapid economic growth,[12] and pressure to pay off foreign debt. Forest resources have been exploited by established companies and reforestation has rarely been carried out.

[7] Japanese timber traders have bought huge quantities of cheap logs from unsustainable sources, accelerating deforestation. [13] Log production increased from 6.3 million cubic metres (220×10^6 cu. ft.) in 1960 to an average of 10.5 million cubic metres (370×10^6 cu. ft.) between 1968 and 1975, peaking in 1975 at over 15 million cubic metres (530×10^6 cu. ft.) before declining to about 4 million cubic metres (140×10^6 cu. ft.) in 1987. [9] In the 1970s and 1980s, an average of 2.5% of Philippine forests disappeared each year, three times the rate of global deforestation. [14] Illegal logging has two major economic impacts in the Philippines.

On the one hand, those who engage in illegal logging can earn a significant income. For example, an experienced chainsaw operator can earn about 400 pesos per day. Based on some interviews with Jan et al. In the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (NSMNP), these workers benefit from deforestation to cover their children`s school fees, as well as alcohol and tobacco. However, these positive effects of illegal logging can only benefit a few people. On the other hand, farmers lose profits because the roads from farm to market have been damaged by timber trucks. Fishermen also complain about the reduction in the quality and quantity of fish due to soil erosion.[11] Rural poverty and corruption are the main causes of illegal logging in the Philippines. As the population of the Philippines grew rapidly in the late 20th century, the demand for farmland increased. Some residents have converted forests to cropland without government approval. In addition, the Philippines experienced slow economic growth after independence.

For example, the government has tried to improve the national economy at the expense of forest land by exploiting woody and non-timber resources. Although the government proposed a law banning timber harvesting in the late 20th century, illegal loggers behave recklessly, as the local government sometimes turns a blind eye to this situation.