By PR/PNA
MANILA — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), through its Forest Management Bureau (FMB), is paying tribute to 15 people’s organizations (POs) that have successfully implemented the government’s Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) program.
The 15 POs from upland and coastal communities across the country will be given recognition during the 3rd CBFM Practitioners’ Congress taking place at the Manila Hotel on Tuesday (Dec. 11).
Forest Management Director Nonito Tamayo said the event will recognize the POs propagating the best practices in the area of livelihood and enterprise development while posting a significant increase in the forest cover within CBFM areas.
The congress is part of the FMB’s efforts to further improve the implementation of the CBFM, as participants will again consult each other to update the program guidelines.
The lessons and experiences by the 15 POs will also be used to finetune the CBFM framework to be implemented in the next 25 years.
The FMB has been organizing the congress every three years since 2012, primarily to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the implementation of the program on a nationwide scale.
It also seeks to address the peculiarities of each CBFM project at the community level, giving focus on the underlying issues that enhance or constrain community participation.
This year’s theme, “CBFM: Para sa Kalikasan at Kabuhayan,” puts emphasis on the program’s socioeconomic and environmental objectives, as well as the DENR’s current advocacy campaign slogan, “Tayo ang Kalikasan.”
Attending the event are some 500 delegates, including representatives from 1,884 POs that have been awarded with 25-year CBFM contracts, local government units, NGOs, and the academe.
Also lined up during the event are discussions on the overall 20-year assessment of CBFM implementation, based on the findings of a program review conducted by a third-party monitoring and assessment service provider.
CBFM products from forest resources management and various livelihood enterprises development in different regions will be showcased through exhibits during the event.
