Governance issues raised with privatized reforestation

GOVERNANCE questions have been raised regarding plans for private investors to take the lead in reforestation efforts, analysts said.

- By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Environmental advocates said they are alarmed by the potential for conflicts of interest in privately managed reforestation, as opposed to government-directed programs carried out by communities.

The profit motive could erode the imperative that future generations benefit from the earth’s resources, while also undermining the “equitable distribution of resources especially for indigenous communities,” Ateneo School of Government Jennifer S. Oreta said via Facebook Messenger.

“The private sector, by its very nature, is concerned with profit. Return of investment is the immediate goal; profit maximization is the long-term goal,” she said.

“Profit-seeking on the one hand, and human rights-social justice on the other are fundamentally different concerns.”

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) last week said it plans to open 1.2 million hectares of “denuded” forest land to private investors on June 26, shifting away from government-centric reforestation.

Undersecretary Carlos Primo David said the DENR is expecting half of the 1.2 million hectares to be reforested by the private sector under the National Greening Program (NGP). In 2024, the NGP had set a goal of rehabilitating 7.1 million hectares of denuded land by 2028.

“You need to reforest the half, and then you utilize the other half,” Mr. David said, noting that the previous purely conservation-focused approach has not worked.

“If you wait for the government to do reforestation of one million hectares... It will take us many years.