Contribution of Forestry to Poverty Alleviation - APFNet

Administrative Region
Region I (Ilocos Region) 13,012.06 4,545,906 189,800 349 0.04 17.8
Region II (Cagayan
Valley)
28,228.83 3,051,487 1,149,860 108 0.38 14.5
Region III (Central
Luzon)
22,014.63 9,720,982 589,500 442 0.06 12.0
Region IV-A
(Calabarzon)
16,873.31 11,743,110 289,660 696 0.02 10.3
Region IV-B
(Mimaropa)
29,620.87 2,559,791 1,193,830 86 0.47 27.6
Region V(Bicol) 18,155.82 5,109,798 156,490 281 0.03 36.0
Region VI (Western
Visayas)
20,794.18 6,843,643 256,640 329 0.04 23.8
Region VII (Central
Visayas)
15,885.97 6,398,628 74,840 403 0.01 30.2
Region VIII (Eastern
Visayas)
23,251.10 3,912,936 519,860 168 0.13 33.2
Region IX (Zamboanga
Peninsula)
17,046.64 3,230,094 182,190 189 0.06 36.6
Region X (Northern
Mindanao)
20,496.02 3,952,437 337,490 193 0.09 32.8
Region XI (Davao
Region)
20,357.42 4,156,653 421,030 204 0.10 25.6
Region XII
(Soccsksargen)
20,713.09 3,829,081 349,250 185 0.09 28.1
Region XIII (Caraga) 21,478.35 2,293,480 523,310 107 0.23 39.8
ARMM - Autonomous
Region in Muslim
Mindanao
Sources: NSO 2010, NSCB 2010, NAMRIA 2005.
21,065.30 4,120,795 250,350 196 0.06 38.1
Poverty Reduction and Forestry in National Policy
National Poverty Reduction Strategy
Under the 2011-2016 Medium-term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) (NEDA 2011), the
government aims to reduce poverty incidence in the Philippines by 10% annually until the president’s
term ends in 2016. The key targets are poverty reduction (from 33.1% in 1991 to 16.6% in 2015), and
employment creation (one million jobs annually) and annual average labor force growth of 2.75%.
This goal is accompanied by the government’s aim to promote inclusive growth by increasing gross
domestic product (GDP) growth to around 7-8% every year, while increasing per capita income to
US$ 3,000 by 2016 and US$ 5,000 in two decades. The National Economic Development Authority
(NEDA) presented the summary of the Plan’s 10 chapters focusing on the following five crosscutting key
strategies: (a) boosting competitiveness to generate employment; (b) improving access to financing; (c)
investing massively in physical infrastructure; (d) promoting transparent and responsive governance;
and (e) developing human resources through improved social services.
In the past, the government implemented various poverty reduction programs. The Social Reform and
Poverty Alleviation Act (RA 8425) was passed in 1997 primarily to reduce poverty by redistributing
economic resources and creating institutions to implement the Social Reform Agenda. This law
established the National Anti-Poverty Commission to serve as a coordinating and advisory body. Its
responsibilities are to support and coordinate the SRA into the development plans at the national,
regional, and local levels, to strengthen currently effective initiatives and avoid duplication of efforts
by different agencies.
Under the previous MTPDP 2004-2010, the government implemented major policy and institutional
reforms and key programs aimed at protecting and empowering the poor and the vulnerable groups. To
empower the poor, it implemented a program called the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan. The objectives
of this strategy that are related to poverty alleviation in the uplands are improving access to social
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