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CSO Network Convenes with Grassroots Partners to Address NGP Implementation Issues

Posted on February 20, 2014

Dr. Perry Ong addresses the audience during the first day of the NGP Summit.

Noting crucial issues and criticisms that have arisen during the first half of the implementation period of the government-sanctioned National Greening Program (NGP), the Rain Forest Restoration Initiative (RFRI) has organized a two-day conference that gathers its network of civil society organizations and partners from involved community-based organizations and peoples’ organizations. The forum, dubbed as the “NGP Summit” and given the theme, “Revisiting the Implementation of the National Greening Program,” opened today and will run until tomorrow at the La Breza Hotel in Quezon City.

“This event is very timely as it coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the partnership agreement on February 20, 2012, which formalized government and civil society partnership for NGP and made it one of the significant concurrent efforts to restore the country’s denuded forests and conserve biodiversity,” says Dr. Perry S. Ong, UP Diliman Institute of Biology professor and RFRI network-member.

The NGP is the government’s flagship reforestation initiative, implemented under the leadership of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Aiming to restore 1.5 million hectares of deforested lands by planting 1.5 million trees from 2011 to 2016, the Program began in February 2011 upon President Benigno S. Aquino III’s issuance of Executive Order 26.

The Program, however, was initially met with strong criticism from civil society, the academe, and the people’s organizations sector. The concerned parties cited that the NGP favored the use of exotic tree species over indigenous ones for the intended reforestation efforts, spurring the CSO contingent to engage in dialogues with the DENR. The talks resulted in a partnership agreement among the DENR, the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation, Inc. (PTFCF), and the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE) that was signed on February 20, 2012. The agreement formalized a collaboration between the CSO/PO sector and the government for the implementation of the NGP, where PTFCF, FPE, and other members of RFRI are responsible for mobilizing grassroots partners in the production, maintenance and nurturing, and planting of seedlings of indigenous tree species, while the DENR provides technical and financial support, as well as incentives for these community partners.

To date, an estimated 140 CSO partners have been engaged in the Program under the agreement, resulting in the restoration of over 12,000 hectares of deforested land. Despite these accomplishments, however, glaring issues remain and continue to threaten the overall success of the NGP. For instance, stringent DENR requirements have prevented majority of the RFRI’s partners on the ground from securing contracts to serve as local commercial nurseries in support of the Program. Meanwhile, for the few that have managed to do so, delayed and insufficient payments – as well as inefficient payment systems – have left the POs clamoring. In addition to these, instances of miscommunication and overlaps that override the provisions of the partnership agreement have been noted, resulting in the continued procurement of exotic tree species.

Speculations on corrupt practices have also been raised by the involved CSO and PO partners.

The NGP Summit aims to be a venue for the discussion and analysis of the observed issues and concerns, as well as for the review of the existing partnership agreement among the DENR, PTFCF, and FPE, with particular focus on its accomplishments to date and additional policy recommendations designed to improve the Program until its culmination in 2016.

Local community stakeholders and civil society partners of the Rain Forest Restoration Initiative convened to voice out their opinions on how to help the National Greening Program meet its targets without compromising local biodiversity.

The CSO contingent, as led by the PTFCF and FPE, is prepared to consider the revocation of the partnership agreement if the DENR is unable to guarantee the resolution of the discussed concerns. The goal remains, however, to continue upholding the agreement – even in a limited capacity, again depending on DENR’s response – and support the NGP, provided that it pursues the “right kind of green for the Philippines.”