Wood producers appeal vs total log ban

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Wood Producers Association (PWPA) appealed yesterday to President Aquino to reconsider a total log ban, warning of its social impact on over two million people directly and indirectly working in the wood industry.

In a press conference yesterday in Quezon City, PWPA officials, led by its president Antonio Olizon and board members Evaristo Narvaez Jr. and Fernando Lu, pointed out that a total log ban has “never really worked.”

Instead, the PWPA officials warned that a total log ban would only increase illegal logging activities from which the government does not get any benefits.

A nationwide log ban or moratorium, the PWPA officials said, would lead to a loss of at least P30 billion in investments made by firms engaged in the wood industry.

The PWPA said investors in the wood sector, would be discouraged from putting in further investments in the sector.

Likewise, Philippine wood producers would lose an estimated $1 billion in annual exports of high value-added and high-end finished wood products, they added.

The PWPA also warned that up to about 650,000 direct workers in the wood processing and furniture industries would lose their jobs if a total log ban is implemented, possibly resulting in social unrest.

Additionally, about 1.5 million people indirectly employed by the wood industry would also be affected.

The PWPA also warned that without local wood production, prices of wood products would skyrocket as the country would have to import wood products at a time when demand from other countries such as China are high.

Narvaez pointed out that the total log ban imposition is triggered during times of massive flooding like that which recently occurred in Bicol.

However, Narvaez argued, logging may not be the only cause for the flooding, but climate change may also be a factor as evidenced by the recent floods that hit Australia and the Middle East.

The PWPA officials clarified that only protected forest and those in watershed areas should be covered by a total log ban, while residual forest that are covered by timber license agreement (TLAs) and industrial forest management agreements (IFMAs) should be allowed to continues with their sustainable forestry management practices.