A party-list lawmaker has filed a bill for better forest management in hopes of building a “green shield” to help protect Filipinos against natural disasters, as the country braces for its second typhoon this week.
According to Solid North Party-list Rep. Ching Bernos, “forests act as a green shield against the intensified effects of weather events due to the climate crisis.”
“If we are to secure our generation and those that will come after us, we need to prioritize protecting and properly managing our forests, with the view towards increasing forest cover rather than diminishing them further.”
House Bill 3113, or the Sustainable Forest Management bill, lays out various measures for the responsible use and protection of the country’s forests, Bernos explained.
It establishes a Sustainable Forest Development Fund (SFDF) to be utilized as concessional financing for forest development projects, administered by a government financing institution as a trust account.
Disbursements from the fund shall be allowed solely for the protection, maintenance, and development of the forest area.
The managing GFI, in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, shall invest at most 75 percent of the net interest income from loans to forest development-support facilities, including road networks, seedling nurseries, water supply systems, and research facilities, subject to recommendation by the Forest Management Bureau.
The bill also provides for the fund’s augmentation through grants, donations, payment for ecosystem services, and endowment from various local and international sources.
At least seventy percent of forest charges and government share collected, including proceeds from the sale of confiscated forest resources, machinery, equipment, and tools, fines, and penalties, shall also be set aside for the SFDF.
Under the bill, the DENR-FMB would also be reconstituted as a line bureau responsible for the administration, sustainable management, development, and conservation of forest lands and forest resources.
