EDITORIAL - Sustainable forestry

An indefinite log ban may look good on paper, and certain lawmakers now calling for a total ban may think they are currying favor with environmental advocates. But a ban is good only if it can be enforced. And many decades of similar orders have not gone beyond political rhetoric, because both the environment police and residents in affected areas either can’t or won’t enforce the ban.

One thing going against it is the continuing demand for wood products. Members of the wood processing industry have pointed out that wood is indispensable for construction, housing, and the manufacture of items such as paper products, furniture and handicraft. Importation will increase the production costs of those goods and activities. With tight local supply and higher prices, the incentive becomes stronger to circumvent any ban and continue cutting down trees in prohibited areas. Wood processors said the government must also address the conversion of vast tracts of forested lands into residential, industrial or mining areas, which has contributed to the rapid depletion of forests.

Another hindrance to a logging ban is the lack of personnel and logistics to enforce it. Even with the assistance of environment activists, those tasked to enforce any ban need the cooperation of affected communities, whose members must tip off authorities about large-scale illegal logging. But many communities near natural forests and reservations are themselves dependent on small-scale agro-forestry. Marginalized communities that engage in destructive forest clearing operations and forest activities, instead of being penalized for breaking laws they are not even aware of, are likely to be more receptive to the concept of sustainable forestry rather than a sweeping log ban.

Inadequate government support for reforestation and promotion of sustainable forestry also hinders the success of a log ban. How many tree-planting activities, launched with great fanfare by well-meaning politicians using public funds, have fizzled out because the saplings are not suited for the habitat or not properly maintained until they are firmly established?

For sure, denuded forests lead to destructive floods. But Sulu, where the forest cover is so dense it provides the perfect hiding place for the Abu Sayyaf, is now experiencing one of its worst floods. Apart from effectively protecting what’s left of the country’s natural forests, the government needs other responses to climate change. Sweeping log bans in the past, apart from being ineffectual, have also opened opportunities for extortion. The government should instead take a look at the success of sustainable agro-forestry programs implemented in countries such as Brazil. People who have an economic stake in sustainable forestry are the best stewards of trees.