Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Executive Order No. 193, Series of 2015: Enhancing the National Greening Program

February 15, 2017

DENR ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 003-17

 

Pursuant to Executive Order No. 193, series of 2015, otherwise known as "Expanding the Coverage of the National Greening Program (NGP)" and in order to harmonize all forest development activities that will encourage and enhance the development of forest plantations, including forest parks, with greater participation from the private sector, local government units, and organized upland communities, the following rules and regulations are hereby promulgated:

SECTION 1. Declaration of State Policy. — It is the policy of the State to sustainably manage, protect and conserve the country's forest resources while reducing poverty, promoting food security, environmental stability and biodiversity conservation; enhancing climate change mitigation and adaptation, and providing a favorable investment environment with adequate environmental, cultural and social safeguards; enhancing the participation of women and men through the implementation and expansion of the coverage of the National Greening Program (NGP).

SECTION 2. Objectives. — The general objective of this Order is to enhance the NGP, extend the period of its implementation consistent with the updated Philippine Master Plan for Forestry Development and Philippine Development Plan and to promote social justice by addressing the plight of the Filipinos in the upland to reduce poverty.

Specifically, it aims to:

1. Accelerate the rehabilitation and reforestation of unproductive, denuded and degraded areas;

2. Enhance and encourage the participation of the private sector, local government units, organized upland communities, and other relevant stakeholders in the sustainable management of the developed plantations and protection of existing forests;

3. Involve and enhance the participation and investment of the private sector with a view towards enabling private companies to achieve carbon neutrality, among others;

4. Provide opportunities for communities to develop social enterprises to produce sustainable livelihood and optimize benefit; and

5. Provide appropriate management arrangements including issuance of tenure and provision of incentives to participants to ensure sustainability of the program.

SECTION 3. Scope and Coverage. — Consistent with the updated Philippine Master Plan for Forestry Development (2016-2028), the enhanced NGP shall cover all the remaining unproductive, denuded and degraded forestlands to be managed for production and protection purposes as well as to achieve carbon neutrality.

This will include development of new plantations and sustainable management of established plantations as well as protection of existing forests.

SECTION 4. Definition of Terms. — The following terms as used in this guidelines shall be defined as follows:

a. Agroforestry — refers to the sustainable management of land, which increases their productivity by properly combining agricultural crops with forest crops simultaneously or sequentially over time through the application of management practices, which are compatible with the local climate, topography and slope.

b. Assisted Natural Regeneration — is a process of rehabilitating denuded lands by taking advantage of trees already growing in the area. This usually involves following activities: locating and releasing indigenous trees, maintenance, and augmentation planting and protection.

c. Carbon Neutrality — refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions or having a net zero carbon footprint, by balancing a measured amount of emission with an equivalent amount sequestered, through planting trees and protecting existing forests.

d. Degraded forestland — forest land severely damaged by the excessive harvesting of wood and/or non-wood forest products, poor management, repeated fire, grazing or other disturbances or land-uses that damage soil and vegetation to a degree that inhibits or severely delays the re-establishment of forest after abandonment. This include areas with the following land cover classification: fallow, shrub land, wooded grassland, and grassland.

e. DENR — shall refer to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources which includes its field offices like Regional Office, PENRO and CENRO.

f. Denuded forestland — refers to forestland area that is bare and not covered by natural or artificial cover.

g. Enrichment Planting — is the introduction of valuable tree species in forest areas where economical species are lacking.

h. Forest Landscape Restoration Approach — is a process that aims to strengthen the resilience and functionality of the forest landscape and keep future forest management options open. It also aims to restore ecological integrity and enhance human well-being in deforested or degraded forest landscapes.

i. Land Tenure — the arrangement of privilege that allows a person or a community to use specific pieces of land and associated resources (e.g., water, trees, etc.) in a certain period of time and for a particular purpose.

j. Private Sector — any entity that is not an instrumentality of the Government that is formed into either a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, cooperative or organization under the laws of the Philippines.

k. Social Enterprise — provides a means to improve social wellbeing, environmental sustainability, and economic performance of the community.

SECTION 5. Survey, Mapping, and Planning (SMP). — Prior to any development activities in an area, the DENR Field Offices in coordination and consultation with communities and stakeholders concerned, shall conduct Survey, Mapping and Planning (SMP) of all remaining unproductive, degraded and denuded forestlands for the identification, mapping, allocation of areas for production and protection purposes, species-site-market matching which may include agroforestry species leading to the establishment of social enterprise. This shall also include assessment of the readiness of target Peoples Organization and upland communities to be engaged in the comprehensive site development and gathering of baseline information through socio-economic survey or participatory rapid appraisal to effectively measure the outcome of the Program. CAIHTE

SECTION 6. Social Enterprise Development. — The Peoples' Organizations or communities shall conduct a collective and systematic review and assessment of their best opportunities through a value chain analysis and decide and implement after careful planning the most relevant and viable community enterprise that they can focus on and concentrate their resources for greater benefits to the community. The forced savings derived from NGP community nurseries and plantation activities shall be utilized to fund community enterprises decided by the People's Organization. The People's Organization shall also commit to a social contract to ensure that public funds are properly utilized.

SECTION 7. Enhanced Commodity Roadmap. — The following commodities shall be considered for planting in areas identified for NGP:

Commodity	Description
Timber	Indigenous, native, endemic tree species shall be planted within protection/protected areas. In the production areas, planting of indigenous, native, endemic tree species shall be preferred. Planting of fast growing and adapted exotic species may also be allowed (e.g., for timber, fuelwood, pulp and paper, and veneer production)
Fuelwood	Leguminous species (e.g., Kakawate, Anchoan dilaw, Ipil-ipil) which has the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and with high calorific value shall be considered for planting.
Hedgerow	Leguminous and coppicing species (e.g., Anchoan Dilaw, Kakawate, Ipil-ipil, Rensonii, Flemengia, etc.) shall be prioritized for planting in the establishment of biological contour systems to conserve soil and water.
Bamboo	Bamboo shall be planted in production and protection forests, including along riverbanks. The ERDB shall develop standards and protocols for the collection, production and planting of bamboo including cuttings. The Bamboo Roadmap developed by the ERDB including identified species of bamboo to be planted for the production and/or protection purposes shall be adopted.
Rattan	To ensure domestic supply for furniture industries.
Mangrove	Mangrove areas, particularly in small islands and areas at risk with inundation from tsunami or storm surge and areas frequently affected by typhoons, shall be expanded. The ERDB shall provide technical guidelines for the establishment and protection of mangrove plantations in these areas.
Beach Forest Species	Beach forest species (e.g., Nipa, Bitaog, Bani, Talisay) shall be planted as climate change adaptation and mitigation measures as well as source of additional livelihood
High Value Crops	High value crops (e.g., Coffee, Cacao, Rubber) shall be planted for the development of social enterprises.
Agroforestry Species	Fruit trees and agricultural crops (e.g., cash crops/vegetables, pepper, abaca) shall be considered for agroforestry. This may include hedgerow garden that shall be planted with nitrogen fixing plants, forage and cover crops.
Other Commodities	Other commodities shall include sources of essential oils (e.g. Ilang-ilang), natural dye (e.g. Achuete), resins (e.g., Benguet Pine, Almaciga), fiber (e.g. Salago), sugar palm (e.g. Kaong), and medicinal plants.

SECTION 8. Development Components and Activities. —

The area management approach with the watershed as the basic planning unit shall be used in developing all remaining unproductive, denuded and degraded forestlands. Under this approach, the following activities can be done in order to restore the landscape functionality, economic productivity, and ecological integrity of an area:

Establishment of new plantations

a. Tree plantations

b. Planting of indigenous, native, endemic species in protection/protected areas

c. Agroforestry Development

d. Bamboo plantations

e. Rehabilitation of mangrove areas

f. High Value Crops

 Establishment of new plantations shall be within areas covered by any tenure instrument/management arrangement through Comprehensive Site Development (CSD) which shall have the following components:

a. Mapping and Site Assessment

b. Planning and value chain analysis to match species with site and markets

c. Site & Soil Preparation

d. Species Selection & Spacing

e. Nursery Establishment & Seedling Production

f. Plantation Establishment

g. Maintenance & Protection

h. Monitoring and Evaluation

SECTION 9. Qualified Participants. —

Any person, whether natural or juridical, may actively participate in the enhanced National Greening Program, through a Memorandum of Agreement with the Government of the Philippines, represented by the Department of Environment & Natural Resources. The person interested to participate in the enhanced National Greening Program should be able to satisfy the minimum requirement provided in this Order.

Qualified participants are the following:

i. Any holder of a tenure instrument/management arrangement and of good standing with the DENR.

 Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA), Certificate of Stewardship Contract (CSC) and Protected Area Community-Based Resources Management Agreement (PACBRMA) holders shall be prioritized.

ii. Local Government Units (LGUs) in so far as the area or areas for NGP shall be under their administrative jurisdiction. Provided, that the Sanggunian issue a Resolution allowing the Local Chief Executive to undertake activities under this Order.

iii. Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs)/Indigenous Peoples (IPs).

iv. Any person/community group that could satisfy the minimum requirement as provided in the GPPB Resolution No. 9-2014 on community participation.

SECTION 10. Participation of Private Sector. —

The private sector is encouraged to participate and invest in the Program as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and/or to enhance their greenhouse gas sink and reservoir as part of their commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emission, at no cost to the government in developing such area.

Together with the Environment Management Bureau (EMB), the FMB shall prepare technical bulletin on the preparation and implementation of forest carbon projects.

Qualified private sector may engage in the following activities:

i. Establishment of new NGP plantations. Private Sector can develop and invest in areas, either tenured or untenured for the establishment of new NGP plantations. For areas covered with tenure (i.e. CBFMA), the private sector may enter into Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with the tenure holder to develop the area. For untenured area, private sector may develop the area under the NGP through a Memorandum of Agreement with the DENR. DETACa

ii. Maintenance and protection of existing NGP plantations. For long term development, the private sector may invest in maintenance and protection of existing NGP plantations through appropriate management arrangement.

iii. Protection of existing second growth forest. With appropriate technical assistance from the DENR, the private sector may invest in protecting existing second growth forest through a Memorandum of Agreement with DENR.

iv. Development of Social Enterprise in partnership with CBFM POs and community group in accordance with GPPB Resolution No. 09-2014.

SECTION 11. Certification System. — A certification system shall be developed for the purpose of ensuring the legality and sustainability of forest products from NGP plantations.

SECTION 12. Program Management and Supervision. —

The DENR shall create an NGP Executive Committee that shall be headed by the Secretary and composed of the following as members:

a. All DENR Undersecretaries

b. All DENR Assistant Secretaries

c. The Director, Forest Management Bureau

d. The Director, Biodiversity Management Bureau

e. The Director, Ecosystem Research and Development Bureau

f. The Director, Environment Management Bureau

g. The Director, Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau

h. The Director, Lands Management Bureau

i. The Director, Financial Management Services

j. Representatives from the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Academic/Research Institution

The NGP Executive Committee shall be responsible for the overall management and supervision of the implementation of the enhanced NGP. Participation of CSOs (e.g., Churches, Non-Government Organizations) in all aspects of enhanced NGP implementation should be ensured.

The DENR-Forest Management Bureau (FMB) and the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) shall be responsible for providing technical support to program implementation. The DENR-ERDB shall oversee the implementation of the mangrove and beach forest rehabilitation including bamboo plantations.

SECTION 13. Monitoring and Evaluation of NGP. —

The Planning and Policy Office under the Undersecretary for Planning and Policy shall take the lead in the monitoring and assessment of the performance of NGP.

Third party monitoring and evaluation shall be done through external auditors, giving priority to State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

SECTION 14. Mandatory Program Review. — A third-party mandatory review and assessment of the implementation of the Enhanced National Greening Program shall be done every five (5) years.

However, a composite team of representatives from the DENR, Civil Society Organization (CSO) and the Local Government Unit shall review and assess the implementation of this Program.

Any legal instrument or management arrangement issued or entered into pursuant to this Order shall be reviewed and assessed every three (3) years from the date of issuance.

SECTION 15. Support Mechanism. — Funds shall be allocated to cover various support mechanisms including but not limited to capacity building, monitoring and assessment, development and maintenance of database.

SECTION 16. Funding. — The DENR shall propose and allocate funds under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for the implementation of activities under this Order. Complementary funding shall be sourced out from other government agencies under the convergence approach, including investment from the private sector.

SECTION 17. Recording of Enhanced NGP Accomplishments. — In order to ensure that the accomplishments of the enhanced NGP are properly recorded in the books of the DENR, the accounting procedures for reforestation projects provided under COA Circular No. 2015-007 dated 22 October 2015 and subsequent guidelines that may be issued by the Department shall be strictly observed.

SECTION 18. Separability Clause. — In case any portion or provision of this Order is declared invalid, the remaining which are not affected shall remain valid and enforceable.

SECTION 19. Repealing Clause. — All rules, regulations, circulars, instructions, memoranda, orders or portions thereof which are inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

SECTION 20. Effectivity Clause. — This Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation and upon acknowledgement of receipt of a copy thereof by the Office of the National Administrative Register (ONAR).

(SGD.) REGINA PAZ L. LOPEZ

Secretary

Published in the Malaya Business Insight on April 27, 2017.

ATTACHMENT

SOCIAL CONTRACT

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 16, Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, it is the policy of the State to protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature;

WHEREAS, Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution provides for the promotion of social justice and human rights, including the commitment to create economic opportunities based on freedom of initiative and self-reliance;

WHEREAS, the Section 23 of the Constitution encourages non-governmental, community-based or sectoral organizations that promote the welfare of the Nation;

WHEREAS, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (First Party) believes that people and communities have endless potentials and unleashing their creativity and initiative helps them attain financial independence, self-sufficiency and self-reliance.

WHEREAS, the Peoples' Organization (Second Party) has committed itself in protecting the ecological integrity of its community through its partnership with the First Party in environmental protection and natural resources management while harnessing its organizational potentials to the fullest:

NOW, THEREFORE, both parties agree and endeavor to perform the following:

THAT, the income from the livelihood projects should be used for the welfare of the child and the family;

THAT, there should be transparency in the use of funds and a certain percentage allocated for forced savings to finance community identified social development projects;

THAT, an amount should be set aside for continuing education and training of community members;

THAT, there must be a commitment to pay-forward through the prudent use of funds and transparency in all financial transactions and utilization;

THAT, a commitment to undertake ecological solid waste management undertaken to protect and safeguard the environment;

THAT, partnerships with other stakeholders such as the Local Government Units (LGUs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the private sector and Other Government Agencies (OGAs) shall be considered to establish a reliable network of service providers;

THAT, observance of and compliance to environmental laws and basic environmental principles (i.e., on biodiversity, stability, integrity, productivity, etc.) shall be undertaken at all times;

THAT, all community projects should have a high social rate of return to ensure sustainability; and

THAT, commitment to aesthetics and orderliness shall be pursued and maintained.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have hereunto set their hands this _______ day of _______________________ 2017 in _______________, Philippines. aDSIHc

 

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES	PEOPLE'S ORGANIZATION
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SIGNED IN THE PRESENCE OF:

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