QuestionsQuestions (DENR ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 30, S. 2004)
The SIFMP is a DENR program intended to promote sustainable development and management of forest lands by giving wider society equitable access to forest resources. It grants security of tenure to participants through Socialized Industrial Forest Management Agreements (SIFMAs) and provides incentives via benefit-sharing from forest crops produced in developed areas.
A SIFMA is an agreement between a natural or juridical person and the DENR, granting the holder the right to develop, utilize, and manage a small tract of forest land consistent with sustainable development.
The privilege to benefit from forest crops produced from areas developed by SIFMA holders includes primarily timber, non-timber forest products, fruits from tree orchards, and other cash crops that may be interplanted.
The DAO lists objectives such as increased supply of timber and other forest products (including food), reforestation and protection of natural forests, soil and water conservation and biodiversity, generation of additional income and livelihood, and more equitable access to forest lands. The livelihood/income objective is specifically 2.4.
SIFMAs may cover grasslands, brushlands, and open/denuded forest lands suitable as production forest under DENR jurisdiction, including areas within government reforestation projects. Exclusions include areas under NIPAS initial components or otherwise excluded classifications, areas covered by CADC/CALC and CADT/CALT, and areas with prior vested rights/licenses/permits/management agreements unless made available by prior written agreement of the holder. Pending ancestral domain/lans claim applications and currently occupied areas based on legal claims require NCIP denial/rejection with prejudice (for CADC/CALC) or prior express written agreement/ resolution of the legal claim.
For individuals/single family: 1 to 20 hectares. For associations/partnerships/cooperatives: over 20 hectares to 500 hectares.
CENROs identify suitable areas using control maps and land use plans, verifying suitability and that areas are not covered by exclusions (e.g., pending applications, existing instruments). The RED organizes a composite team to validate suitability on the ground (biophysical characteristics, socio-economic considerations, presence of land claims/occupants) and to conduct consultations with adjoining communities. The team determines metes-and-bounds (technical description and geo-referenced final map) and secures LGU sanggunian endorsement.
If within one barangay: Sangguniang Barangay. If across more than one barangay: Sangguniang Bayan/Sangguniang Panglunsod or all concerned sanggunians. If across more than one municipality/city: Sangguniang Panlalawigan or all concerned Sangguniang Bayan.
Applicants must be Filipino citizens of legal age, preferably residents of the municipality where the area is located, with priority to actual occupants of the area.
Their members must be Filipino citizens and residents of the province where the SIFMA site is located, and they must be duly registered with the proper agency (CDA, DTI, or SEC depending on the entity).
Examples include: (1) prior TFLAs, IFMAs, or other permits/licenses that were canceled due to inability to comply with contract provisions (e.g., failure to develop area per prescribed land use); (2) officers with derogatory records such as anti-dummy law violations, tax evasion, illegal logging/smuggling, unauthorized transfer/subcontracting of forest permits/licenses, or members unable to comply with their forestry permits; (3) holders of any subsisting forestry permit/license/lease/contract/management agreement.
The SIFMA duration is 25 years, renewable for another 25 years.
DENR awards SIFMA areas on a first-come, first-served basis. The SIFMA is issued in the applicant’s name; for married individuals, it is issued in the names of both spouses.
Yes, the SIFMA may be transferred, conveyed, or sold in whole or in part to any qualified person/cooperative/association, subject to approval: PENRO for individual/family SIFMA holders; RED for cooperatives/associations. The area limits (20 ha for individuals/families; 500 ha for cooperatives/associations) must not be exceeded. The transferee must assume rights and obligations and continue the SIFMA for remaining years. The transfer document must be notarized and copies furnished to required DENR offices and LGUs.
After filing, the CENRO receiving office evaluates completeness. Field verification/survey/inventory must be conducted not to exceed 5 working days. The team must submit a report with recommendations to the RED within 5 days after completion of field work. Applications are pooled and evaluated by the en banc group at least every 15 days.
The RED refers the winning application to NCIP for issuance of certification precondition and/or free and prior informed consent (FPIC). Only after receiving the necessary NCIP certification does the RED approve and award the SIFMA.
The SIFMA must include: (1) prohibition against conversion to unauthorized land uses; (2) pollution prevention/mitigation and measures to protect soil and water; (3) rehabilitation of open and denuded areas and protection of existing natural forest vegetation; and (4) an effective monitoring scheme, among others.
Tree species must be planted in not less than 60% of the area; fruit trees in not less than 30% of the area; remaining plantable areas for agricultural crops, preferably permanent crops for food production. Examples include rubber and non-timber economically valuable species like rattan/bamboo. All planted trees, crops, and products are owned by the SIFMA holder.