Saving the forest from their own backyardFOR over 10 years, farmer Paus Javier has planted corn in the hills near his home in Bugatay, Peñablanca, Cagayan. He had to wait four months before harvesting his crops—and he had to feed his family. As a result, many farmers in the area, like Javier, resort to charcoal making. Eventually he noticed that the forests around his hometown were disappearing, but he felt he had no choice.

Today, when he meets people who make charcoal, Javier warns them that if they’re cutting trees in a protected area, they’re violating the National Integrated Protected Areas (NIPAS) Act, Republic Act No. 7586. This piece of legislation prohibits the destruction of any plants or animals in a protected area, and violators can be fined anywhere between P5,000 and P500,000. But most important, Javier asks his former colleagues to give it up for a better way.

Javier is one of hundreds of farmers working with Conservation International (CI), Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), and the local government units of Peñablanca, Cagayan, including the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)—partners in the Philippine Peñablanca Sustainable Reforestation Project (PPSRP).

The PPSRP was launched in 2007 in a 2,943-hectare area covering five barangays in the municipality of Peñablanca, Bugatay, Cabasan, Sisim, Mangga and San Roque. The goals of the project include the restoration of what used to be lush forests, conserving whatever natural forest and biodiversity are left, and providing alternative livelihood through reforestation, enhancement planting and agro-forestry.

“We are here because of this area’s high conservation value,” says CI country executive director Romy Trono. “We’ve been working in the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Conservation Corridor since 2001, and it’s one of the biggest protected areas in the country. It was a challenge to manage because of its size. That’s why Toyota’s participation is welcome.”

The first phase of the PPSRP ends this year, with 912 hectares reforested, 300 hectares already covered with enhancement planting, and over 560 hectares planted to mangoes and other fruit trees.

In the three years since the inception of the project, people have also begun to see the bigger picture: the connection between the forest and what Trono calls “ecosystem services,” such as a dependable water and food supply, better flood control, and even a more comfortable climate.

“It’s hard to make them understand something they haven’t experienced,” says Juan Acay Jr., Forestry and Carbon project manager of CI’s Sierra Madre Biodiversity Conservation Corridor. “We tell them, imagine not having anything to drink for a week because we have no more forests and no more water. It’s about making the connection.”

To help curb another cause of deforestation, the cutting of natural forest trees for firewood, people have been encouraged to plant alternative fuel wood trees in designated areas. Beyond the PPSRP, the farmers are hoping to continue their agroforestry work as an alternative income source, and have been forming cooperatives to ensure that they will get the support they need. Local leaders are hopeful that, for the people of Peñablanca, a broader appreciation for the forest and why it is important will eventually become second nature. (Excerpted from The Philippine Starweek, May 30, 2010) Conservation International (CI) is a nonprofit organization based in Washington DC, working in 27 countries around the world, including the Philippines, to promote conservation of the earth’s biological diversity. CI has an active Philippine program led by Perry Ong, a renowned Filipino environmentalist from the University of the Philippines and one of the National Academy of Science and Technology’s Ten Outstanding Scientists for the Year 2000.

Lopez Group chairman Oscar M. Lopez is a member of the International Board of Directors of CI and the chairman of First Philippine Conservation Inc.