Contract

Reforestation with
Forest Land
Management
Agreement (FLMA)
By: Francis Miguel P. Perito
BS Forestry III-A

Contract Reforestation
(Memorandum Circular 04 Series of 1990)
One of the basic components of National

Forestation Program launch in 1986 by Pres.

Cory Aquino
According to Former DENR Sec. Jun S.
Factoran, the CRP is designed to tap the
services of private corporations, local
government units, non government
organizations, communities and families to
set up, maintain and protect forest
plantations.

Objectives of Contract
Reforestation Program
1) To use reforestation as a tool for addressing rural equity and
development issues;
2) To create new jobs and expand opportunities for profitable selfemployment of rural population living within or adjacent to public
forest lands;
3) To foster a new dynamic private participation in reforestation;
4) To attain a condition of balanced ecosystem and sustainable
productivity of forest resources;
5) To instill an efficient system for broad-based private sector
participation in the management of bids, awards, monitoring,
evaluation, certification and payment for contract reforestation
work.

Program coverage
1) All idle denuded forestland including those
inside watershed reservation.
2) Other contract reforestation sites include
underdeveloped portions of reforestation
projects not covered by any development plan
for the next five years.
3) Denuded portions of mangrove areas not
covered by existing permits or leases.
4) Areas within timber concessions with poor
reforestation performance.

Funding
Funding of which will however
come from the reforestation
deposit of concerned timber
licensed agreement (TLA)
which, as of January 1990 has
reached a total of 311
million.

Types of Reforestation
Contracts
1) Family approach contract
2) Community contract
3) Corporate contract

Family approach contract

The government through the
DENR enters into an
agreement with the head of
the family for the
reforestation of say, one to
five hectares.

Community Reforestation Contract

An agreement to reforest areas not

exceeding the limit of 100 hectares is
between the DENR and any interested
recognized entity such as a registered
association, barangay, cooperative,
foundation, civic or religious organization
acting for and in behalf of residents of a
community located within or adjacent to
the target reforestation area.

Corporate Reforestation Contract

The second party may

either be a private
corporation, nongovernment organization,
or any other formal/legally
constituted entities.

Bidding of reforestation
contracts
The bidding is handled by two
separating committees:
1) Based in central office
2) Based in each of the DENR
regional offices

The central office-based

committee handles
reforestation contracts
covering 500 hectares while
the regional committee is
responsible for contracts
covering less than 500
hectares.

Duration of Contract
Reforestation contracts have
a 3 year-duration,
commencing on the 15th
day from receipt of notice
issued by the DENR.

Generally, the first year of the

contract is devoted to preestablishment activities to
actual planting and
maintenance.
The next two years is devoted
to maintenance and
protection of the forest
plantations.

To get reforestation contracts to start, an

advance payment of not more than of
the 15 percent of the contract cost is
made available to the contractors for their
mobilization fund. The advance payment
is normally given after the contract has
been signed and the DENR has officially
advised the contractor to implement it.
The contractor must have also submitted
the required letter of undertaking, surety
bond or irrevocable letter of credit.

Safety Measures
1) Staggered mode of payment" wherein contract
participants are paid in accordance with their
accomplishment, or as stipulated in their contract of
work. As a general practice however, the participants are
paid in at least ten installments.
2) The required 80 percent minimum acceptable survival
percentage for forest plantations established under the
program.
3) Conduction of periodic (monthly) monitoring and
evaluation of the projects by project leaders, local DENR
office, or an independent entity contracted out of
purpose.

Forest Land Management

Agreement
Department Administrative
Order 71 Section 90
(Implementing Guidelines for
the Award and the
Administration of Forest Land
Management Agreement)

Subject Area/ Location

1) Reforested lands;
2) Residual and second growth natural
forests;
3) Naturally-grown and planted
mangroves;
4) All denuded lands which shall be
approved by the Sec. on a case to
case basis

Beneficiary
1) Filipino citizen of legal age;
2) Corporation, partnership, association or
cooperative (registered under Phil. Laws), at
least sixty percent (60%) of the capital is
owned and controlled by Filipino citizens;
3) TLA holders (in good standing) willing to
convert TLA to IFMA;
4) Community organizations residing near or
adjacent to the lands applied for.

The FLMA enables local communities that have

successfully complied with the terms of a
reforestation contract with the DENR to maintain
custody of the land for a twenty-five-year period,
which could be renewed for another twenty-five
years. In exchange for harvesting privileges in the
reforested areas, FLMA recipients are expected to
reimburse the government for its initial investments
in site development, reforest the harvested areas,
and conduct forest protection activities.
Similar to the CFP, NGOs are mobilized in providing
organizational and training assistance to
communities in the performance of forest
management duties.

When the contractor of the reforestation

activities has terminated his contract with
the DENR, he/she may still apply for another
contract called Forest Land Management
Agreement (FLMA) upon attaining an 80%
survival and properly maintaining the whole
area. This program provides long-term
tenure to the people who planted and cared
trees in newly reforested areas. The area
should be at least 100 ha. The contract or
agreement has a tenure of 25 years and
renewable for another 25 years.

The contractor may also plant cash crops while the

forest trees are still young. Vegetable rice, corn and
root crops can be planted in the vacant spaces
in between the trees. The contractor may harvest,
process and sell timbers following the sustained yield
forest management practices. The DENR gets a
30% share of all the proceeds obtained from the area.
The contractors are assisted by the non-government
organizations (NGOs) and Community Organizers hired
for the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) in the aspects of forest
management like silviculture, timber valuation
and harvesting

References
Sindac, Rez G. (1990, June 18). Forest rehabilitation through contract
reforestation. Manila Standard, p.14. Retrieved from:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?
nid=1370&dat=19900618&id=tJkVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WAsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6
268,2723521&hl=en
Hidalgo, F.S.J. (1999). Sustainable Development-every Filipino's Concern:
Let's Help Save the Earth. Rex Book Store, Inc. Retrieved from:
https://books.google.com.ph/books?
id=e3qKE4qqHR8C&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=Contract+Reforestation+of
+1990&source=bl&ots=lSP7jOLwiN&sig=xD7N0MPsn0pLgPXS31cN106p
Mkg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjljvSA5d3NAhXIdT4KHewQBfgQ6AEINT
AE#v=onepage&q=Contract%20Reforestation%20of%201990&f=false
http://environmentalhistory.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/6-2_Magno.pdf
http://docslide.us/documents/agroforestry-systems-in-the-philippines.html
http://pub.iges.or.jp/modules/envirolib/upload/1504/attach/ir98-3-16.pdf