Depletion of the Forest Resources in the Philippines 9789814345729

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The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies was established as an autonomous organization in May 1968. It is a regional research centre for scholars and other specialists concerned with modem Southeast Asia, particularly the multi-faceted problems of stability and security, economic development, and political and social change. The Institute is governed by a twenty-two-member Board of Trustees comprising nominees from the Singapore Government, the National University of Singapore, the various Chambers of Commerce, and professional and civic o rganizations. A ten-man Executive Committee oversees day-to-day operations; it is chaired by the Director, the Institute's chief academic and administrative officer. Th e ASEAN Economic Research Unit is an integral part of the Institute, coming under the overall supervision of the Director who is also the Chairman of its Management Committee. The Unit was formed in 1979 in response to the need to deepen understanding of economic change and political developments in ASEAN. The day-to-day operations of the Unit are the responsibility of the Co-ordinator. A Regional Advisory Committee, consisting of a senior economist from each of the ASEAN coun tries, guides the work of the Unit.

DEPLETIO N OF THE FOREST RESOURC ES IN THE PHILIPPIN ES

001 JIN BEE

National University of Singapore

Field Report Seri• No. 18 ASEAN ECONOMIC RESEARCH UNIT INSTITUTE OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES 1987

Published by Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Heng Mui Keng Terrace Pasir Panjang Singapore OS 11

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

© I987 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies The responsibility for facts and opinions exprused in thi& publication rests exclusively with the authors, and their interpretations do not nect!$Silrlly reflect the views or the policy of the Institute or its supporters. Cataloguing in Publication Data Ooi, Jin Bee Depletion of the forest resources in the Philippines. (Field report series I Institute of Southeast Asian Studies; no. I8) 1. Deforestation - Philippines. 2. Shifting cultivation -Philippines. 3. Forests and forestry-- Philippines. I. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. II . Title. III. Series. DSSOI IS94no.l8 1987 ISBN 9971-988-77-1 ISSN 0217-7099 Printed in Singapore by Kim Hup Lee Printing Co. Pte. Ltd.

CONTENTS

List of Tables List of Figures

v

vii

Ackno ~ed~en u

~

I

Introduction

ll

The Philippine Forest Cover

ill

Loss of the Forest Cover

IV

Shifting Cultivation in the Philippines

V

Forest Resourtt Depletion and Defo restation

VI

The Problem in Its Wider

SS Notes GloiiiJ)' SS S6 Bibliography

I0 13

~tting

S2

25

42

LIST OF TABLES

1.

Areas of Tropical Closed Forest Formations and Forest Fallow, 1980

4

2.

Areas of Closed Forest Formations and Forest Fallow in Southeast Asia, 1980

5

3.

Average Annual Deforestation in Southeast Asia, 1976-85

8

4.

Classes of Vegetation in the Philippines

12

5.

Population Numbers and Densities, Philippines, 1903-83

18

6.

Area Planted to Crops, Philippines, 1910-85

19

7.

Release of Public Land for Agriculture, Philippines, 1952-70

19

8.

Typology of Shifting Cultivation (K.aingin) in the Philippines

26

9.

Land Classification in the Philippines, 1955-82

34

10. Philippine Non-Muslim Hilltribes and Unauthorized Occupants of Forest Lands , 1979

36

11. Area Deforested Annually by K.aingineros in the Philippines

38

12. Landsat Forest Inventory Area of the Philippines, 1976

43

13. Forest Resource Depletion in the Philippines

45

14. Rates o f Deforestation irt the Philippines

47

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 1

Output of Logs and Lumber, 1908-83

15

Fig. 2

Forest Products as a Percentage of Major Exports, Philippines , 1910-83

16

Fig. 3

The Philippine Forest Cover in the Mid-1960s

22

Fig. 4

The Philippine Forest Cover in the Mid-1970s

23

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This

paper is

based partly on data gathered during two

visits to the Philippines in 1981 while I was a consultant for the Canadian IORC. Thanks are due to the many people in the various institutions who had given me the benefit of their professional expertise , in particular Dr Christopher J.N . Gibbs, formerly with the Ford Foundation; Or B. Ganguli, Asian Development Bank; Or L.L. Rebugio, Social Forestry , University of the Department of Philippines, Los Banos, and many of his colleagues at Los Banos; Or Perla Q. Ma kil , Ateneo de Manila University; Ms Marian Segura de Los Angeles , Philippine Center for Economic Oeve 1opment; Or Robert Sa 1azar and his co 11 eagues in de la Salle University; and the many officials at the Bureau of Institute ,

Forest Development and the Forest Research Ministry of National Resources . The usual

caveat applies.

I

INTRODUCTION

It is possible to distinguish four types of tropical fo rests: wet evergreen or rainforest, moist deciduous forest, dry deciduous forest, and open woodland. Rainforests and wet deciduous forests may be grouped toget her as tropical moist forests (TMF ). About two-thirds of the world's TMF consist s of rainforests that develop in area s receiving between 4,000 to 10,000 mm. of rainfall per annum. They are evergreen and are genetically and ecologically very rich. Moist deciduous forests develop in areas of lesser rainfall (1 ,000 -4,000 mm. annually). One of t he results of the U.N. World Con ference on the Human Environment held in Stockhol m in 1972 was an inc reased inte rna tion al awareness of the seriousness of the current trends in the loss of forest cover and growing stock in t he developing count ries of the tropical world. Among the recommendations of the Conference pertaining explicitly to this issue was one wh ich called for the continuous monitoring of the world ' s forests in coll aboration with the FAO, UNEP, and UNESCO. In the decade after the Stock holm Con feren ce a number of studies of the wor ld ' s TMF were published. These were l argely attempts to evaluate and synthesize heterogenou s

2 Ooi Jin Bee data of varying quality and reliability. Although the final figures and conclusions arrived at by the authors varied in detail, all were unanimous in their views that the world's TMF were being dep 1eted rapidly, in many cases beyond critical thresholds (see Persson 1974; Sonwner 1976; Myers 1980; the Global 2000 Report 1981). Estimates of the rates of deforestation varied considerably. Sommer {1976) reported that the total area of TMF in the mid-1970s was 935 million hectares. This was 40 per cent less than their previous global coverage. His computation of the annual TMF loss was 11 mi 11 ion hectares (1.2 per cent per annum). In a later study lanly and Clement {1979) put the annual loss at 5.6 million hectares. This figure covered only those TMF that were permanently removed. At the other end of the scale, Myers (1980) estimated that 20 million hectares of TMF were being destroyed or seriously degraded each year . His figure included those areas degraded as a result of selective logging. The 1atest and best documented survey of the forest resources of the tropical world was that conducted by the FAO and UNEP within the framework of the Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS). The Tropical Forest Resources study covered 76 countries lying within the tropics or experiencing a tropical monsoon climate. In 13 countries where recent and consistent data at the national level were not available landsat imagery was used in association with existing vegetation maps and forest inventory reports to arrive at estimates. In this survey the TMF are included in the larger definition of "closed broadleaved forests", defined as those which cover, with their various storeys and undergrowth, a high proportion of the ground and do not have a continuous dense grass 1ayer a11 owing grazing and spreading of fires. They are often, but not always, mu 1t i -storeyed. They may be evergreen, semi -deciduous or

Introduction

3

deciduous, wet , moist or dry. Such closed forests occupied an area of 1,160 million hectares in 1980. There were another 228 million hectares of forest under fallow, found mostly within the closed forests. These were vegetation regrowth on areas cleared for shifting cultivation and subsequently abandoned (Tab le 1). If left undisturbed, such fallows would eventually take on the appearance of the primeval closed forests. Each of the three major tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and America covered by the FAO/UNEP Tropical Forest Resources study is the subject of a detailed analysis, consisting of two sections: a regional summary and a The Tropical Asia report country-by-country report. (FAO/UNEP 1981) provides baseline data on the forest situations in the sixteen countries of the region, consisting of the six countries of South Asia, the nine countries of Southeast Asia, and Papua New Guinea. Table 2 shows the areas of closed forest formations and the areas under forest fallows in Southeast Asia in 1980 . Almost half of the total area of 262 million hectares was in Indonesia; the other countries with substantial areas were Burma and Malaysia.

Deforest1tion Any forest cover can be disturbed or modified through deforestation, degradation, logging, or management. Much of the confusion regarding rates of tropi ca 1 deforestation has arisen because of ambiguity in the use of the term "deforestation". The FAO defines deforestation as a complete clear ing of tree formations and their replacement by some other use of the land. Less complete forms of alteration such as those resulting from selective logging, forest fires, firewood gathering, and from natura 1 causes are not included in the definition. These processes of degradation of the forest cover through human activities

Table 1:

Are8s of Tr oplc81 Closed Forest Form8tlons and Forest F8llow, 1980 (mi lli on hectares)

Productive For est

Reasons

Unpr oduct i ve Forest Forest Fal low

Unm8n8ged M8naged

Physle81 Re8sons

Legal Reesons

Total

%

Und i sturbed

Logged over

Troplc81 Amerle8 (23 countries)

453.0

53. 5

-

133.6

13.9

99.3

753.3

54

Troplcel Afrlc8 (37 countrI es)

118.2

41.9

1. 7

43.6

9.0

61.6

276.0

20

97.2

58. 4

36. 2

83. 6

16.5

67. 3

359.2

26

668.4

153. 8

37.9

260. 8

39.4

228. 2

1,388.5

100

Tropical Asle ( 16 countries)

Total (76 countries)

Source:

Based on FAO/UNEP (1981), Tab le 1a.

T•ble 2:

Areas of Closed Forest Formations and Forest Fallow In Southeast As i a, 1980 (thousand hectares)

Productive Forest

Country

Unproduct i ve Forest

Unmanaged Managed UndIsturbed

Logged over

14, 107

5,590

3,915

Total

s

Legal Reasons

7,778

299

17, 560

48,753

18.6

8

2, 035

2,185

800

8,935

3.4

270

17

32

4

237

560

0. 2

38, 915

34,620

40

34,570

5,430

13,460

127,035

48.5

Malaysia

7,529

5,524

2, 499

4,484

959

4,825

25,820

9.9

Ph I I I pp I nes

3,000

3,700

1,930

690

3,520

12, 840

4.9

K~~mpuchea

4,610

510

2, 030

200

7,350

2. 8

Laos

2, 880

4, 680

5, 000

12, 560

4.8

Vletnllfll

1, 500

2, 170

76,726

52, 131

Burma Thailand Br unei Indonesia

Total

Source:

Data from FAO/UNEP (1981) .

3,419

Physica l Reasons

Forest Fal l ow

5,958

3,170

560

10, 750

18, 150

6.9

60, 709

10, 127

56, 352

262,003

100.0

6 Ooi Jin Bee and/or natural causes may, if further intensified, result in deforestation. Such deforestation, however, forms an insignificant part of ttie annual deforestation that takes place in the tropics. The underlying factor that leads to deforestation in the tropical world is rapid population growth, and the consequent increased demand for land for agriculture, Rates of grazing, and other development purposes. population growth in the developing countries of the tropical world are typically over 2 per cent per annum, and are projected to decline only marginally by the year 2000 (World Bank 1984). Traditionally, shifting cultivation has been, and remains, the main cause of tropical deforestation. But to it are now added three other causes arising from the increased pressure of population on the land: (1) the encroachment of forested areas by displaced and landless farmers in search of new farmland; (2) the conversion of forest areas by legal agencies such as the state or state-supported institutions for various forms of land for example, plantations, cash-crop settlement, agricultural settlement schemes, pioneer settlements in frontier areas such as the Amazon Valley or the undeveloped areas of Kalimantan or Sumatra in Indonesia, and refugee sett 1ement areas; and (3) the conversion of forest 1ands for other forms of planned development such as hydroelectric power stations, m1n1ng, road and rail transport development, and urban land-use. The Tropical Forest Resources study estimated the rate of deforestation in the 76 countries of the tropical world would be 7.1 million hectares per year for the period 1981 to 1985. Such deforestation wou·ld be mainly a result of shifting cultivation. The rates of deforestation would be highest in tropical America (4 million hectares per annum), and lowest in tropical Africa (1.3 million hectares per

I nt roduct ion annum) .

7

Tropical Asia would have a deforestation rate of

1.78 million hectares per annum. Table

3

shows

deforestation

the

average

annual

in Southeast Asia, the actual

rates

of

rates during

the five-year period 1976-80, and the projected rates in 1981-85.

The following major conclusions can be drawn from

Tables 2 and 3: 1.

The

average

annual

rate of

deforestation

of closed

forests in Sout heast Asia is 0.7 per cent per annum, compared with the average of 0.6 for Tropical Asia as a whole. 2.

Analysis of the annual average rates of deforestation by country shows that they were highest for Indonesia (550,000 hectares annually during the 1976-80 period), followed

by

Thailand

( 230,000 hecta res),

(325,000

Laos

hectares),

Malaysia

(120,000 hectares), and the

Philippines ( 100,000 hectares). 3.

Du r ing the 1976-80 period the tot a 1 area in Southeast Asia that was deforested amounted to about 7.5 million hectares or 1.5 million hectares per annum. expected to level th is

trend

is

This was

off during the 1981-85 period.

projected

into the

future,

If

Southeast

Asia would have some 30 million hectares of its closed forests cleared for non-forestry use by the year 2000. The closed forest

area of the region would decrea se

from about 206 million hectares in 1980 to 176 million hectares in 2000, or by about 12 per cent. The main causes of deforestation in Southeast Asia are s hift ing

cultivation,

encroachment landless areas,

and

on

unorganized

forest

displaced

lands,

government-sponsored

land

forest

Examples

clearance.

squatting,

lowlanders

refugee en c roa chments

and

into

spontaneous migration

upland

of

forested

(Indochinese peninsula), and

settlement, of

the

usually latter

involving are

the

Table l:

Average Annual Deforestation In Southeast Asia, 1976-85 (thousand hectares>

Productive Total

Unproductive Logged

UndIsturbed

Country

1976-80

1981-85

-

92

102

8

37

J25

244

E

E

E

7

5

550

600

e:

E

100

90

J5

178

200

20

20

no

255

E

E

100

90

E

E

100

90

"

20

2

'

E

2

15

25

1976-80

1981-85

1976-80

1976-80

1981-85

56

62

J6

40

-

207

107

110

100

Brunei

7

5

E

Indonesia

E

E

32

Burma Thailand

Malaysia Philippines Kampuchea

1981-85

Laos

80

60

20

25

20

15

120

100

VIetnam

20

20

20

20

20

20

60

60

415

309

1,016

1,078

68

94

1,499

1,481

Total

E • negligible or relatively small areas. Source :

Data from FAO/UNEP (1981).

Introduction

9

transmigration schemes of Indonesia, where large numbers of people from overcrowded J ava are moved to the undeveloped parts of Ka 1i mantan and Sumatra, and the state-sponsored agricultural

development

schemes of Malaysia where large areas of forest are cl eared and planted to rubber and oil palm. Other causes of deforestation include forest cl earance for mining, loss of forests through hydroelectric and irrigation proj ects, and through transport and urban development. Each country in this geographic region would have its own set of factors operating to cause the dep 1et ion of its forest resources through deforestation. This paper will however, focus on the situation in the Philippines, in particular on shifting cultivation as an agent of forest depletion.

II

THE PHILIPPINE FOREST COVER

The Philippines is a collection of about 7,100 islands with a total land area of 30 million hectares . The two largest islands -- Luzon and Mindanao -- are roughly equal in size; together they make up two-thirds of the 1and area of the Philippines . The Philippine islands would fall entirely within the TMF biome. The characteristic vegetation is a rich and highly diverse rainforest wi t h some 3,000 species the majority of which belong to the of trees, Dipterocarpaceae (lauan) family . Most of the commercially valuable species are members of this family . The volume of timber in dense timber stands in such forests varies from 100 to 200 cu . m. /ha . This forest type is best developed in areas (up to 800m. altitude) with heavy rainfall uniformly distributed throughout the year. A second forest type is that which develops on that part of the Philippines -- the western strip -- which experiences a di st i net dry season . Here the vegetation is characteristically more open. The commercially valuable species are molave (Vitae parviflora), ~ (Pteroca rpus indicus) , tindalo (Pahudia rhomboidea), ..!.P.!.l (lnstsia bijuga) , and dangula (Teijsmanniodendron ahernianum). The domi nant member of this group is molave, after which this

The Philippine Forest Cover

11

forest type is named. Timbers from these species are highly prized for their beauty and durabi 1 ity . They make fine furniture woods, in contrast to wood from the di pterocarp family which provides good construction timbers . The volume of timber in a stand averages only 30 cu . m./ha. The other vegetation types inc 1ude pine and montane forests, mangrove forests, and beach forests. Timber from these forests enters the local but not the export markets {Salita 1974; Virticio & Torres 1977}. In addition to the main product of timber, the forests are a source of a wide range of minor products : woodfuels; barks for tanning, dyeing, and flavouring; resins and oils from barks, sapwood and nuts; wild rubber and gutta - percha; rattan; construction materials from bamboo and other palms; and medicinal and pharmaceutical products. The range would be greatly extended if the products used by the forest dwellers but which do not enter the market are included. No data are readily available on the extent to which the forests of the Philippines were depleted during the three centuries of Spanish rule. The main agents of deforestation were the shifting cultivators, the agriculturalists and, to a limited extent , the timber loggers. During this period the total population grew from 500,000 (in the late 16th century) to about 7,000,000 (end of the 19th century). This increase in population was matched by an increase in the area under cultivation, totalling about 2,830,000 hectares at the beginning of the twentieth century (Fisher 1964}. Records kept by the Bureau of Forestry during the period when the Philippine islands were under U.S. administration showed that by 1910 half of the original forested area of 30 mi 11 ion hectares had been converted to grasslands and cultivated lands (Table 4}. The conversion of forested 1and to grass 1ands or cogona 1es (named after the cogan grass -- Imperata spp.) was mainly as a result of

12 Ooi Jin Bee the activities of shifting cultivators or kaingine ros. Cogonales originate when a patch of old or second growth forest is cleared for cultivation and is then -- when yields fal l , usually after one to three years -- abandoned for a new patch. When the kai ngi neros set the cut j ungle growth on fire to clear the land, nearly all plants except the coarse cogon grass are killed. Repeated firings, whether spontaneous or de 1i berate, of abandoned c1eari ngs have prevented any change in their vegetation, and vast areas of once forested land have given way to cogonales. Where a kai ngi n is abandoned and is not subject to further and repeated firings, natural reforestation will 1ead to the estab 1i shment of second-growth forests. Such second-growth forests, the result of the kaingi n system of agriculture, covered an estimated 5 million hectares of the land area of the Philippines in 1910 (Table 4). The class of vegetation designated as virgin forests in Table 4 includes forests that were undisturbed by man as we 11 as those whose composition had not been altered by exploitation. These and the more mature second-growth forests would form the island's main sources of timber. Tabl e 4:

Classes of Vegetation In the Phi llpplnes

Class

VIrgin forests Second-growth forests Grassh1nds Cultivated land*

Area (ha. >

Percentage

10, 000,000

33.3

5,000,000

16.67

12,000,000

40.00

3,000,000

10.00

• Probably less than ha l f of this area was under culti vat ion at any one time. Source:

Whitford (1911), Table 1.

Ill

LOSS OF THE FOREST COYER

Two ma jor forces have worked towards the continual 1 oss of the forest cover of the Philippines since the beginning of this century.

These are:

(1) the large-scale commercial

exploitation of the timber resources of the forests; and (2) the demand for t he l and on whi ch the forests stand.

Tillber Exploitation The history of timber exploitation goes back to the period of the Spanish occupation , when the finest quality timber trees were felled for the construction and repair of the Spanish galleons plying the trade routes from east to west. Although exploitation was con fined to the more accessible lowl and

forests,

the extent of deforestation was

seve re

enough, particularly in the isl ands of Cebu and Bohol, to spur the Span ish Government to issue a Royal Decree in 1974 prohibiting the felling of trees for commercial purposes in problem areas (Mak il 1982). There were, nevertheless, very substantial quantities of

commercially

valuable durable

hardwoods that

r emained

unexploited, especially in t he l argest islands of Mindana o, luzon,

and

the

Visayas.

During the American

period

occupat 1on the output of 1ogs and 1umber increased at

of a

14

Ooi Jin Bee

modest rate -- from about 100,00Qm3 in the late 1800s to about 1. 6 mi 11 ion m3 in 1935, an average rate of increase of 11 per cent per annum (Fig . 1) .

The total cut from 1908

to 1935 amounted to 20.8 million m3, or only 2. 6 per cent of the 800 million m3 of standing timber estimated by (1911) to have covered the Philippines in 1910. Forest products, mainly timber, contributed an average of 3 . 4 per cent to the total value of all exports during the

Whitford

period 1937-40. At the end of Wor 1d War II it was estimated that as much as three-quarters of the Philippines was still under Large-scale exploitation of the forest (Myers 1980) . forests began soon after the Philippines attained its indeLogging was on an unregulated basis pendence in 1946 . until the early 1960s, with no rational management of the forest resources and little attention paid to the principle of sustained yield. for agricultural

The areas logged were often released

land - use .

The Pa r ks and Wildlife Office

reforested annually during this period amounted to only 1 per cent of all the forests destroyed by various agents, whether 1ega 1 or otherwise . The estimated

that

the area

forests, in effect, were being depleted as though they were wasting assets rather than renewable resources (Parks & Wildlife Office 1968; Gulcur 1968; Virticio

&Torres

1977).

The pace of timber logging during the period from the end of World War II to the earl y 1970s has been described Figure 1 shows that the as "phenomenal" (Durst 1981) . output of logs and lumber increased steadily throughout the 1950s and 1960s , reaching a peak of 11.5 million m3 in 1969,

and

thereafter

declining

just as

steadily to 5. 5

The percentage contribution (by value) of forest products (logs , lumber, plywood, and veneer) to tot a 1 exports shows a correspondin g pattern of a rise from

million m3 in 1983.

0 . 8 per cent in 1947/49 to a peak of 35 per cent in 1969, and then a steady fall to only 4 . 6 per cent in 1983 (see

20 000

lllOOO

9000 8000 7000 5000

"' sooo

~

~

4000

u

3000

.0 ::;) u

"0

c

"'"'0

2000

::;)

.:; 1-

::>

ll.

1-

::>

0

!000 900

Q)

::0 :!

800

100 600

iii

>

"'

SOD

-

400

0

c

300

~

"'

"0

200

YEAR

Fig. 1: Sources:

Output of Logs and Lumber, 1908-83.

Whitford (1911); Buret~u of Forestry (1936); Ht~rtendrop (1958); Bureau of Forestry , vt~r lous years; Economist Intel I lgence Unit, Annual Supplements , various years; Phi llppl ne StatlstiClll Yearbook , vt~rlous yet~rs .

50

41 30

21

10

u

ll 1J

u 5J

(J)

4J

1-

a:

2X

10

a:

2J

w

.,0 ~

~

l5 w

(!)

~w

u a:

w

~

1.0

u

OJ

l7

" lS

l4

Q)

.D

0.3

l2

Q)

:0

~

-roro

ro

ro

0

0

ro> c

>

c

YEAR Fig. 2:

Forest Products as a Percentage of Major Exports, Philippines, 1910-83 (by value>.

Sources :

Miller (1929); Department of Commerce and Industry (1966); Golay (1961); Econ~lst Intelligence Un it, Annual Supp lements, various years ; Philippine Statistical Yearbook, various years.

Loss of the Forest Cover

17

Fig. 2). It is evident that the returns from the Phi 1i ppi ne forest resources have dec 1i ned in recent years in two ways: first, the output of the most valuable product, timber, has fallen considerably as the supply base -- the old growth forest areas -- has shrunk in area as a result of over-exploitation and the conversion of forest 1ands to other uses . Second, the foreign exchange earnings from forest products have also decreased considerably since the 1970s . In an effort to contain this trend the former {Marcos) government passed a new Forest ry Code in 1974 {Presidential Decree No. 389) that provided, inter alia, for the gradual phasing out of log exportation to stimulate the development of the local wood processing industry. The objective was to reduce 1og exports to zero by 1982, and to increase the exports of the higher value processed products. The policy was implemented in 1976 and in early 1982 a total ban on the export of logs was imposed, but as there was no compensatory inc rea se in the exports of processed products , the ban wa s subsequently lifted in order to maintain export earnings. Log exports, wh ich had declined from 1.25 million m3 in 1979 to 706,000 m3 in 1981, increased to 786,000 m3 in 1983 as a result of the lifting of the ban {Economist Intell igence Unit 1985) . Daind for Forest Land As a developing country with a rapidly growi ng population, the Philippines faces an ever increasing pressure to convert forest land to other more intensive forms of land-use. These include the use of l and for tran sport development , urban and rural settlements, m1n1ng, pastoralism, and hydroelectric power development. The greatest demand for land, however, is generated by the agricultural population engaged in sedentary as well as shifting cultivation. The conversion of forest land to

18

Ooi Jin Bee

these alternative forms of land use involves the complete clearing of the forest, that is, deforestation. In areas where environmental conditions are suitable for

farming,

the

transfer

of

forest

land

to

permanent

agriculture is an economically rational shift which allows for

the

more

productive

social

use

of

the

land

as

population numbers and the demand for food increase (see Spears 1980). Philippines increase,

The imperatives for such a transfer in the

are

set

by

the consequent

the

rapid

increases

rates

of

population

in population numbers

and densities (Table 5), and the high percentage (46 per cent)

of the labour force engaged in agriculture

(World

Bank 1985). The demand for agricultural land has increased in step with the increase in population members.

Large expanses of

forest land were converted to agricultural land-use to meet this demand .

An i ndi cation of the rate of change is given

in Table 6.

Although the total

Table 5:

planted area is not the

Population Numbers and Densit i es, Philippines, 1903-83

Year

Total Population

Dens 1ty Per Km2

1903

7,600,000

25

1918

10,300,000

34

1939

16,000,000

53

1948

19,200,000

64

1960

27,500,000

92

1970

36,700,000

122

1983

52,000,000

173

Sources:

Bureau of ( 1985).

Census

and Statistics,

Man I Ia

(1973);

World Bank

Table 6:

Year

Area Planted t o Crops, Phi I lpplnes, 1910-85

Total Planted Area ( 1 000 hal

Annual Average Increase In Planted Area ( 1 000 hal

1910

3,000

1930

4, 082

54 ( 1910-30)

1950

5,075

50 ( 1930- 50)

1960

7,594

252 ( 1950- 60)

1970

8,946

135 ( 1960-70)

1980

12, 900

395 ( 1970- 80)

1985

14,400 (pr ojected)

300 ( 1980- 85)

Average annual Increase for 1910- 85

152

Source s:

Data from Philippine ( 1981 >.

Table 7:

Release of Publ lc Land for Agriculture, Phi I lpplnes, 1952-70

Period

Ph I II pp I ne StatIst I ca I Yearbook, var lous years; Agricu ltural Statistics, various years; FAO/UNEP

Area Rel eased for Agricu lture < 1 000 hal

Annual Average ( ' 000 hal

1952-55

864

288

1956-60

1,413

283

1961-65

482

96

1966-70

151

30

1952-70

1,910

106

Source:

Bureau of Forestry Development, Philippine Forestry Stat ist ics, 1970 (Manila>.

20 Ooi Jin Bee same as the total area under agricultural land-use as it includes land under double-cropping but excludes fallow land, nevertheless the data on planted area in Table 6 provide a clear picture of the rapid expansion of agriculture over the 75-year period between 1910 and 1985. The expansion has been especially rapid in the last decade, when the planted area increased by an average of 395,000 hectares per annum. The conversion of forest land to agri cultural land-use was effected legally, through the release of forest land, as well as illegally, through the encroachment of kaingineros on the logged-over areas. The dimensions of the legal conversi on of forest land area are indicated in Table 7 which shows that an annual average of 106,000 hectares of forest land were released by the Bureau of Forestry Development for agriculture during the period 1952-70. During this same period the area planted to crops increased by an annual average of about 190,000 hectares (Table 6). Much of the difference of 84,000 hectares between the annua 1 increase in p1anted area and the official release of forest land for agriculture must be attributed to the illegal conversion of forest land by This figure accords with the 80,000 to kaingineros. 140,000 hectares that Myers (1980) estimated were being converted to kaingin areas each year. The conve rsion of forest land to agricultural land has, for most of the century , kept pace with the rapid increases in population . The pressures that were built up by the growing number of farmers were relieved by continual land settlement , made possible by the Philippines still But, possessing land available for such settlement. beginning in 1960, there were indications of a decreased reliance on traditional inputs, particularly land, for agricultural development. That the land frontier had been reached is indicated by the fact that in the six years

Loss of the Forest Cover

21

ending in 1965, the total area under cultivation increased by only 4 per cent, as against a population increase of 22 per cent

(Golay

1968;

Hooley 1981).

The high rate of

forest destruction in the 1960s {100,000 hectares a year) by

kaingineros

as

well

as

by

destructive

and

illegal

logging practices was another indication of the increasing pressure of the rural population on the land (Rahmann 1963; Research & Information Division 1966). By the mid-1970s the combined effects of logging and the legal and illegal conversion of forest land to agricultural land had led to a substantial loss of the Philippine forest cover (Fig. 3). Also, the conversion process was facilitated by the policy on land adopted by the judiciary.

Up to 1966 claims

to forest land between the government and private claimants were settled in the courts of law.

In a test case in 1918

the Supreme Court held that "when the claims of the citizen and

the

government

particular

piece of

collide land

regarding

•••

the

the

nature

of

a

Director of Forestry

should submit in the court convincing proof that the land is not more valuable for agricultural than for forestry purposes". agricultural

This

stance

by

over forestry

the

judiciary,

of favouring

use for land, was made more

explicit by the Court of Appeal in 1947 when it stated that " ••• the Government is really desirous ••• to give to every citizen of this young republic a piece of land that he or she can call his or her own ••• which is the principal, if not the only solution to existing social unrest among our labouring class"

(quoted in Makil

1982).

The land-for-

the-1 andl ess po 1 icy adopted by the judiciary was in force until

1966 when legislation was passed which vested the

power of land classification in the Executive arm of the government. The conversion of forest land to shifting cultivation, as

opposed

to

sedentary

or

permanent

agriculture,

is

rarely, if ever, a process encouraged or supported by the

N

0

0

:~~~airf,f:!

F0 REST

(COMMERCIAl OR PRIMARY)

CJ SECONDARY FOREST

(CUT- OVER & ClEARED I KAINGIN ) AREAS WITH PATCHES OF UPlAND RICE . CO RN & BANANAS )

100

200

300

PH ILI PP I NE

SOUTH

400

500km

SEA

CHINA

Sea

..~ ..

Fi g. 3:

Sources:

_:Celebes

The Philippine Forest Cover In the Ml d-1960s. Derived from data In Sallta et al. (1966) and U.N . ECAFE ( 1978).

N 0

0

FOREST

(COMMERCIAL OR PRIMAR Y)

c::J SECONDARY

FOREST

ICUT- OVER & CLEARED I KAIN GI N) AR EAS WITH PATCHES OF UPLAND RICE . CORN & BANANAS )

0

100

200

300

400

PH I LIPPINE

500km

SEA

\ SOUTH

C H I NA

SE A

~

~ ··

~~O,i.a .

0

Sea

f"'"'v'>

~~

Fig. 4:

Sources:

10

• Cel eb es

The Phi llpplne Forest Cover In the Ml d-1970s . Deri ved from data In Sa llta et al. (1966) and U.N. ECAFE (1978).

24 Ooi Jin Bee government s of developing countries . The reasons are: {1) shifting cul tivation is much more land demanding than permanent agricultur e; {2} it is a low output system of cultivatio n; {3} it results in the wastage of valuable forest resources; and (4) in situations of increasing population pressures, fallow periods are shortened and soil fertility and stability cannot be maintained. Continued have an will conditions these under cu l tivation increasing ly destructiv e impact on the soils, water, and vegetation of the area. Neverthele ss, shifting cultivatio n is not only a persistent system of agricultur e in tropical lands, but a major cause of forest depletion. That this is so is a reflection of the high rates of population growth and the consequent pressure for 1and from the 1arge percentage of rural people with low incomes, static farming technology, and little alternativ e employment opportuni ties . Forest depletion through encroachment is also associated with inequitabl e patterns of land ownership, with large areas of land concentrated in the hands of a few, often absentee, owners and with general insecurity of tenure among landless farmers. This situation, common in many Latin American countries , also prevails in some Southeast Asian countries. The next section of this paper will survey the nature and extent of forest depletion due to shifting cultivatio n in the Philippine s.

IV

SHIFTING CULTIVATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

A shifting cultivation plot in the Philippines is known as a kaingin, and the shifting cultivators as kaingineros. In general, kaingin cultivation methods in the Philippines are similar to those practised by shifting cu ltivators in Indonesia, Malaysia, and mainland Southeast Asia (see Spencer 1966; Chapman 1975). In detail, however, there are several types of kaingin and kaingineros in terms of land-usage, cropping techniques, types of crops cultivated, land alienation, and their impact on the forest and soil. A failure to differentiate between these types can result in considerable confusion and can oversimplify the issues connected with kaingin cultivation and deforestation in the Philippines. A typology of kaingineros is given in Table 8. There are two major systems of kaingin cultivation: the integral and the part i a1 • The integra 1 system is made up of the pioneer (Type A in Table 8) and established (Type B) sub-systems; similarly the partial system is made up of two sub-systems -- the supplementary (Type C) and the incipient (Type D). The integral kaingin system has been part of the Philippine agri cu ltural scene for a long time. Published

Table 8:

Typology of Shift i ng Cu ltivation (Ka lnglnJ In the Philippines

MD. o f Tl_,.

E>

1955

14,549, 865

726,993 (1955-60)

1960

18,184,832

381 , 737 ( 1960-65)

1965

20,093,518

204,288 (1965-70)

1970

21 , 114,960

198,334 (1970- 75)

1975

22, 106,629

173,576 ( 1975- 80)

1980

22,974,51 0

736,1 56 ( 1980-82)

1982

24,446,822

366,554 (1955-82)

Source:

Calculated from data In NEDA, Ph ilippi ne Stati st ical Year book, ~(Manila>.

Shifting Cultivation in the Philippines

35

pressure leads, insofar as agricu l tural land is concerned, to sub-division and fragmentation, and in time to a growing number of farmers with sub- economic holdings and tenant farmers and farm labourers.

Thus, by the beginning of the

1970s , some three million farmers in the Philippines had become tenant farmers . This was one of the highest tenancy rates in Southeast Asia (Po 1981) . Second, this group of landless and partially landless farmers and farm labourers will search for and occupy the nearest available piece of non-forested or forested land, usua lly in t he upland areas, to s atisfy thei r land hunger . The land is cultivated using kaingin techniques. The system employed is classified as the partial kaingin system, and the kaingineros belong to Types C and D. Third, the encroachment on fo r est land by loggers and Types C and 0 ka i ngi neros exe r ts a correspond i ng pressure on the kaingineros on the remaining upland forest land. The response of these kaingineros, practising the integral system of kaingin cultivation, is either to retreat to the more remote forested 1and, if such 1and is avail ab 1e (Type A ka i ngi neros) or reduce the 1ength of the fall ow between clearing for cultivation (Cadelina 1977) and eventually migrate to other, usually second - growth forest 1and when soi 1 impoverishment makes such a move imperative (Type B kaingeros). The geographic dimension generally expression

from the and

lowlands

indeed

involved to the

reinforced

in these moves --

uplands - by

the

is

given

provisions

contained in Presidential Decree (P.O . ) No.705 of May 1975 entitled "The Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines". P. D. 705 provides, inter alia, for the classification of all lands of the public domain with a slope of 18 per cent (10°} and over as lands to be retained for forestry purposes, and all lands of the publi c domain, with certain exceptions, be 1ow this s 1ope as 1ands to be c 1ass ifi ed as

Table 10:

Philippine Non~us l lm HI I ltrlbes and Unauthorized Occupants of Forest lands, 1979

Forest Occupants

Region Number

Area of Forest land* (hectares)

Hllltrlbes

Unauthor i zed Occupants

Forest land* Occupied by Unauthorized Occupants (hectares)

Total Popu lat ion

1, 250,679

706,000

78,340

28,728

784,340

2

2,625,317

1, 125,000

73,428

33,337

1,198,428

3

810, 247

85,000

24,679

19,453

109,679

4

2,887,523

263, 000

63,406

42, 186

325,956

5

556,136

30,000

38,865

33,548

68,865

6

703,241

20,000

24 , 063

21,004

43,663

116,557

47,045

119,557

49,006

25, 404

49,006

}97, 000

5,859

11 , 461

402, 7}6

1,818, 06}

5.36, 000

186, }}4

1}4, 851

722,589

11

1,726,856

1, 080, 000

1}6, 65.3

91,196

1,221,181

12

I, 405, 746

242,000

.3.3,005

2.3, 4.32

275,005

16, 675, 802

4,487,000

8.30, 195

511,645

5,.3 17,195

.3,000

7

690,266

8

1, 192,9.35

-

9

1,008, 79}

10

TOTAL

* Forest lend Is defined es l end In the publ l c dOIIIllln which hes not been clesslf led es elleneble end dlsposeble, Inc l uding elI the publ i c forests, forest reserves end timber lend , es we l l es ell other publ lc lend under the J urI sd I ct I on of the Bureeu of Forestry Deve I opment, regerd I ess of whether It hes stend l ng trees or not (UrMII 1981). Sources :

Dete from Netlonel Tesk For ce, (1980~); dete on the uneuthorlzed forest occupents ere from the uncomp l eted Forest Occupency Census conducted by the Bureeu of Forestry Deve I opment, end perte In to the sltuetlon In October 1979.

Table II:

I•

Area Deforested Annually by Ka lng lner os In the Ph ili pp i nes

Size of a hi II tribe fam il y Size of a kalnglnero family

Average size

2.

Length of kalng l n cyc le:

5.2

2 to 6 5 to 15 12 20 to 25

Average length

3.

5. 02 persons (Cade llna 1977) 5.4 persons (Nat ional Task Force 1980a)

Number of kalnglnero fam ili es:

persons

years years years years