One century of forest rehabilitation in the Philippines: approaches, outcomes and lessons

Forest cover is decreasing or very low in many tropical landscapes following decades of logging, fire and other human disturbances. At the same time, there are large and growing areas of degraded forest lands 1 that need to be rehabilitated to again provide forest goods and services and meet local livelihood needs. National, international, local and private agencies have invested in innumerable rehabilitation initiatives in the tropics. Some countries such as China and the Philippines started earlier than others. Some countries are winding up large programs and others are initiating them. The initiatives have differed in scale, objectives, costs, implementation strategies, and in how much they considered socio-economic and institutional aspects. Lots of money has been spent, but have these efforts actually increased forest cover, helped impoverished upland communities, enhanced biodiversity and environmental services, or contributed to meeting timber needs Did they address the underlying degradation causes and were the rehabilitated areas maintained in the long term What are the most promising approaches Which ones can be replicated at low cost by local institutions and actors Which ones are self-sustaining at the local level What enabling factors are required to sustain the efforts

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