The Oriental Negros Sanggunian is supporting the petition of tree planters in the province to revoke an earlier order of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources canceling 27 Community Based Forest Management Agreement contracts.

In a resolution authored by Board Member Lea Ga Bromo, the SP noted that the order "has caused dislocation of several households."

"The lack of tenurial security may cause new settlement conflicts which may give rise to untold social, economic and environmental problems," Bromo warned, adding that it is very possible that outsiders will occupy the area once it has been left with nobody to oversee it.

On November 30, former Environment Secretary Michael Defensor issued a memorandum directing the cancellation of the 27 CBMFA contracts, covering about 8,000 hectares, because of unsatisfactory performance of the contract holders and alleged illegal logging activities being done in the area.

Defensor reiterated his order on January 6.

But in an undated resolution, the Tree Planters Federation of People's Organization of Oriental Negros, whose members were issued CBFMA by the government beginning 1992, claimed that the order is unconstitutional and in complete disregard to the program of CBFMA funded by the Asian Development Bank way back in 1985.

CBMFA is a tenurial arrangement issued by the government to people's organizations for them to protect, develop and grow the trees in reforested areas covered by the agreement.

In return, CBFMA holders get 75 percent of the proceeds of the trees that will be harvested from the area. The remaining 25 percent goes to the national government.

The agreement has a lifetime of 25 years and renewable for another 25 years.

In the province, there are about 16,000 hectares under the CBFMA which was formerly covered by the estimated P150 million Asian Development Bank and Overseas Economic Support Fund (now Japan International Bank Cooperation) - funded reforestation project in Oriental Negros.

The amount was a loan of the national government. The project which was implemented by different private contractors began in 1985 and ended in 1994.

Beginning 1997 until 2000 the reforested area was turned over by the contractors to the government after complying with all the requirements.

Dumaguete-based City Environment and Natural Resources officer Charlie Fabre said, he was surprised to receive Defensor's memorandum since the trees in almost all of the CBFMA areas in the province are now harvestable.

He said he did know the basis of Defensor's order.

Fabre said the objective of the CBFMA is to ensure that the trees under the ADB-funded project that were turned over to the government would be protected and grow since the government does not have enough manpower to secure the newly turned over reforested areas.

By involving principally the community who formed people's organizations, Fabre said, it is envisioned that the objective will be attained since the agreement inspires the people to help protect the trees as they have been given the opportunity to become stewards of the forest, and the benefits they will be getting later.*RA

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