Foresters oppose total log ban

MANILA, Philippines - The Society of Filipino Foresters Inc. (SFFI) is opposed to the imposition of a total log ban as proposed by Senate Bills 1360 and 21.72.

In a position paper, the SFFI argued that “forest cannot stop flooding and landslides.”

SFFI cited recent events in Australia and Brazil which show that floods are triggered by excessive rain beyond the threshold limit. It added that “legal commercial logging is not the major cause of deforestation.” In fact, “legal commercial logging leads to sustainable forest management,” it added.

According to SFFI, deforestation is not just logging. It also includes conversion of forests to other land uses such as for highways — which is a form of economic development.

The group noted that a total logging ban would be very difficult for the government to implement.

The SFFI said a total logging ban would discourage further investments in the forestry sector and would result in adverse socio-economic impacts to the forest industry and the country’s economy.

The SFFI cited the same figures as the Philippine Wood Producers Association (PWPA) that some 650,000 direct workers in the wood processing and furniture industry would lose their jobs and up to an additional 1.5 milllion people in indirect industries would be affected.

The group said a total logging ban would result in a scarcity of wood and forest products which will result in more wood importation which would drain the country’s dollar reserves.

In fact, without sustainable forest management, SFFI warned, what could result would be a “free-for-all” and “unrestricted exploitation.”

The government should instead pass instead the long-pending Sustainable Forest Management bill which seeks to provide a more comprehensive and workable framework for forest development and conservation, the SFFI said.