Project for the Enhancement of Community-Based Forest Management Program (E-CBFMP) in the Philippines: Terminal Report

The Project for the Enhancement of Community-Based Forest Management Program (ECBFMP) in the Philippines was a 5-year technical cooperation between the governments of the Philippines and Japan, particularly through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).  The two governments agreed to implement the Project from June 2004-June 2009 with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as its executing agency.  

Meetings, discussions and workshops led to the definition of the Project goal of “enhancing the capacities of People’s Organizations (POs) to initiate conservation, rehabilitation and sustainable utilization of forest and land resources within CBFM areas with support from DENR, LGUs and other relevant institutions”.  The Project operational components that were set by DENR and JICA during the inception of the project were the:  (a) development of model sites as learning venue, (b) training and extension, (c) information network development, and (d) policy recommendation for the improvement of CBFM.

At least 4 preliminary JICA missions were dispatched to the Philippines to assess the real need for assistance of the forestry sector and thereafter to develop the project framework with the DENR.  The other missions that followed were conducted to evaluate the implementation of the Project which ran from June 2004 to June 2009.

The project was operated both at the National level and the regional level.  The regional level implementation took place in several project sites, i.e. 9 pilot sites with 4 delisted ones, 12 Follow-up Scheme Activities (FUSA) sites, among others. National level activities were more in terms of policy review and recommendations as well as orientation trainings for CBFM key stakeholders during its first months. Activities were collaboratively conducted by the POs, Japanese experts, DENR staff and partner LGU personnel.  JICA dispatched specialists from Japan, while DENR made use of its current staff from the national, regional, provincial and municipal offices.