Over-Regulated and Under-Marketed: Smallholders and the Wood Economy in Isabela, The Philippines - Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services - page 158

7.4.2 Production Sources of Gmelina Timber

and Fuelwood/Charcoal

Communal and private gmelina plantings are the potential production sources of
smallholder-grown timber in the study area. The present areas and volumes in the
region are very difficult to assess accurately. The communal plantations are part of
the tenured areas under six Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) sites run
by local people's organizations, with a total land area of 27,288 ha and 591 farmer-
beneficiaries. The sites contained gmelina plantations planted since 1996 including
succeeding tree plantings equivalent to, reportedly, approximately 850 ha with vary-
ing conditions and quality. Another government program called the 'Grow a Tree for
Legacy' initiated a further increase in gmelina plantings by providing seedlings to
farmer adopters. Over 200 ha of gmelina were reportedly planted in both public and
private land areas under this program in 16 villages within the study area (Fig. 7.1).
The difficulties in trusting these figures may be illustrated by Callitong (1997)
who carried out a field inventory and concluded that in the whole of Isabela, only
about 42 ha were planted with gmelina. Most of the old gmelina plantations were
already harvested and transformed into corn fields. No more recent field inventories
are available but it is sure that a good number of the officially present gmelina
stands cannot be accounted for, due to poor stocking, low survival rates (through
drought, fires, typhoons, etc.) and harvesting or cutting to meet emergency needs.
On the other hand, many private tree growers do not register their trees unless when
securing permit to cut. These trees may be found in many positions on the farm, e.g.
in home gardens, small-scale plantations or along field boundaries. Single-focus
tree farms, be it for timber, fruit or fuelwood, are not found in the area. Farmers

Fig. 7.1 Reported public and private lands (ha) planted with Gmelina arborea under the 'Grow a
Tree for Legacy' program implemented in the three municipalities under CENRO Cabagan in
Isabela, the Philippines (as of 2006)