The last comprehensive update of land cover for the entire country was done in 1987 using SPOT satellite imagery (Swedish Space Corporation or SSC, 1988). Apart from the limitations of the methodology used and the technology available at that time, the data set is now more than 20 years old and since then, there has not been any publicly acceptable update on land cover nationwide.

There is now an increasing need to have another benchmark of land cover (particularly forest) distribution for the entire country that can be compared with the SPOT 1987 datasets in terms of methodology in arriving at the outputs. A comprehensive collection of recent (LANDSAT TM ca. 1999-2002) satellite image data sets for the entire country was acquired from existing sources by the ESSC.

ESSC is sharing the results of the Philippine upland cover analysis and classification undertaken of 1999-2002 LANDSAT images. The study was intended to compare the 1987 official dataset with that of 2002. As FMB-DENR also released forest cover figures in 2003 covering the same year, ESSC also compared its figures with that of DENR's.

In summary, there was forest loss from 1987-2002 based on the ESSC study while the government figures show otherwise. ESSC documented its methodology and process and these will be shared as well. The maps that accompany these figures are already available online.

Click the following tables present the following:

1.Philippine forest cover comparison - SSC 1987, ESSC 2002, and DENR 2002
2.ESSC Philippine forest cover 2002
3.DENR Philippine forest cover 2002
4.SSC Philippine forest cover 1987

Last month, the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced that the country's forest area increased 33% since 2001, translated to a 1.8 million hectare increase. Thus from 5.39 million hectares, DENR says that the Philippine now has a forest cover of 7.2 million hectares at present. However, these figures are the same figures cited in 2003 (http://forestry.denr.gov.ph/stat2007.htm) and there has not been a further study undertaken beyond 2003 with published results. While DENR's Forest Management Bureau released their 2007 Philippine Forestry Statistics, the forest cover figures referred to are still the same 2003 figures.

But beyond the figures, we view with deep concern the forest definition adopted by the Philippine government as contained in DENR Memorandum Circular 2005-005 dated 26 May 2005, Adopting Forestry Definition Concerning Forest Cover/Land Use. This document defines a forest as follows:

• Land with an area of more than 0.5 hectare
• Tree crown (or equivalent stocking) level of more than 10 percent
• Trees should be able to reach a minimum height of five meters at maturity
• May consist of closed forest formations where trees of various storeys and undergrowth cover a high proportion of the ground
• May cover open forest formations with a continuous vegetation cover in which tree crown cover exceeds 10 percent
• Includes young natural stands and all plantations established for forestry purposes which have yet to reach a crown density of more than 10 percent or tree height of five meters
• Areas temporarily unstocked as a result of human intervention or natural causes but expected to revert to forest
• Includes forest nurseries, seed orchards
• Includes forest roads, cleared tracts, firebreaks, other small open areas
• Includes windbreaks and shelter belts of trees with an area of more than 0.5 hectare and width of more than 20 meters
• Includes plantations primarily used for forestry purposes, including rubber wood plantations
• Includes bamboo, palm, fern formations
• Does not include coconut and oil palm

The above definition is a corruption and a fallacy and denigrates the value of forests. The best forests in the world where trees reach heights of 45 meters and crown cover of 90% are denigrated by such classification. With this, it is no wonder that there is an increase of forest cover in the country.

We not only lost our forest, but also our concept of what a forest is.