Implementing the right policies is a necessary condition to effect the changes that will allow the Philippines to achieve its climate goals. This has been aptly demonstrated by the statistics on the country’s forest cover based on the latest report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the Philippines (FAO). The report titled ‘Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025′ indicated that the country’s forest cover expanded by 212,241 hectares in 2020.
The report noted that the president of the Philippines issued directives that allowed agencies to protect the remaining forest resources of the country in February 2011. The FAO report cited Executive Order 23, which declared a moratorium on the cutting and harvesting of timber in the natural and residual forests and created the anti-illegal logging task force. The government also issued EO 26 to implement the National Greening Program and EO 193, which expanded the coverage of the National Greening Program to cover the rehabilitation of all the remaining denuded and degraded forestlands not covered by EO 26 and extended the period of the program up to 2028.
Prior to 2011, the FAO report noted that the Philippine government permitted the harvesting of trees in natural and residual forests. This led to the decrease in the country’s forest cover from 1990 to 2010. Data provided in the report indicated that the Philippines’ forest cover in 1990 reached nearly 7.78 million hectares, which shrank to 6.839 million hectares in 2010.
These policies, the report noted, allowed the Philippines to increase its forest cover to 7.226 million hectares in 2020 from 7.014 hectares in 2015. This development bodes well not only for biodiversity and regulating climate, but it is also beneficial for the agriculture sector. According to the UNDP, healthy forests play a crucial role in maintaining soil fertility, regulating water cycles and supporting biodiversity-all of which are essential for productive agriculture.
In Ecuador, for instance, UNDP said a partnership between the government, a private company and local coffee farmers highlights the vital connection between coffee cultivation and forest conservation. Coffee, one of the world’s most beloved beverages, is heavily dependent on healthy ecosystems, with forests playing a critical role in maintaining the climate conditions necessary for high-quality coffee production. The deforestation-free coffee partnership between Ecuador and Lavazza encourages farmers to grow coffee while preserving the surrounding Amazonian forests.
The Philippines has shown the world that it can implement the necessary policies to reverse years of abuse suffered by the country’s forests. While it would take a while to expand the forest cover to a level last seen in the 1990s, the Philippines has exhibited the willingness to make tough decisions for the protection of the environment. These forests, especially in rural areas, also serve as the first line of defense against flooding so it makes sense to invest in initiatives that will increase the number of trees in the Philippines instead of allotting funds for substandard flood control projects.