Part II Community-Based Forest Management Program - ppmrn

EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
Management’s Comments
Provided by CENRO-Malaybalay
Non PO members within CBFM areas
can not be driven out even they do not
join the organization as per our
existing laws (RAs 8371, 7586 and
7160). We cannot also suspend the
issuance of CBFMA to those
interested farmers due to noncooperation
of some of the minority
farmers within the watershed/
community. As a compromise, work
and collaboration should already start
to those interested farmers and
overtime, we are confident that the
course of nature will force them to
join the organization and practice
sustainable upland farming system
principles, advocated by the CBFM
community. Some of the compelling
indicators which will ultimately force
them to join includes low production
due to poor soil management,
exclusion in the financial assistance
channeled through the organization
and the non issuance of a tree cutting
permit. On the other hand there are
cases where farmers do not want to
join the organization because of their
personal indifference with some of the
organizers/leaders which is already
beyond our control. On the other
hand, those who were not given the
priority to receive assistance from the
government, tend to distance
themselves from the organization.
Momentarily, non-participation by
some members of the community may
still be an issue but this is very
temporary in nature.
Per our assessment, the four (4) PO’s
have already attained a certain degree
of responsibility and commitment of
protecting natural resources entrusted
to them contrary to the audit
observation. This is, if we compare
them before the project implementa-
Team’s Rejoinder
While the team agrees with the
CENRO that non PO members could
not be driven out, the presence of 47%
non PO members is affecting the
development of the area. Considering
that the PO and the DENR could not
totally disregard the rights of non PO
members and development on such
areas could not be undertaken, there is
a need to establish a minimum
percentage of membership before
awarding CBFMA.
While it maybe true that only one
major fire occurrence was noted by
the team, this could have been
prevented had the required protection
activities been undertaken by the PO.
It was reported that the fire occurrence
destroyed about 50 hectares of the
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