Definitions and Scope
- Defines key terms such as Ancestral Domains, Ancestral Lands, Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claim, Community, Peoples Organization, Forestlands, Sustainable Development, Tenure, among others.
- CBFMP applies to all forestlands, including allowable zones within protected areas, integrating various government forestry programs.
- Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) and Indigenous Peoples (IPs) may participate through Ancestral Domain Management Plans.
Participant Qualifications, Incentives, and Responsibilities
- Participants must be Filipino citizens engaged in tilling, traditional utilization, or residing in/near CBFMP areas.
- POs are entitled to occupation, utilization rights, exemption from rents and forest charges, consultation rights, income from sustainable use, and contract opportunities.
- POs must actively participate in planning and resource management, enforce sustainable use, protect resources, promote transparency, pay necessary fees, and engage in conflict resolution.
Implementation Stages
- Preparatory Stage: Information campaigns, institutional linkages, area identification and selection based on criteria including community presence and endorsement.
- PO Formation and Diagnostic Stage: Community organizing, PO registration, and application for CBFMA.
- Planning Stage: Preparation of Community Resource Management Framework (CRMF), Resource Use Plans (RUPs), and Annual Work Plans (AWPs); interim resource use permits may be granted.
- Implementation Stage: Organizational capacity building, financial sourcing, operational management, monitoring, and continued development.
Tenure Instruments and Provisions
- Issuance of Community Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA), Certificate of Stewardship Contract (CSC), and combination CADC-/CALC-CBFMAs.
- CBFMA and CSC are contracts binding parties for specified terms, renewable, with compensation provisions upon pre-termination due to public interest.
- CSCs may be transferred to qualified participants; CBFMAs are non-transferable but allow contracts for development and collateralization of standing crops.
- Approval authorities vary by instrument and size of area, from CENRO to DENR Secretary.
Management Structure
- CBFM Steering Committee with multi-sectoral membership providing policy direction and inter-agency coordination.
- Forest Management Bureau (FMB) as National Coordinating Office, with roles in policy drafting, program monitoring, and technical support.
- Regional and local DENR offices (RED, PENRO, CENRO) responsible for regional and local implementation, data management, and reporting.
Financial Mechanisms
- DENR and LGUs to ensure adequate budgeting and seek supplementary funding.
- Establishment of Community Based Forest Management Special Account (CBFMSA) for supporting program implementation and incentives.
- Peoples Organizations to maintain Community Forestry Development Funds (CFDF) from sales, grants, income, and fees, for sustaining management and development activities.
Penalties and Appeals
- Monitoring and evaluation by DENR and LGUs; suspension for non-compliance lasting 6 months to 1 year.
- Revocation or cancellation upon gross violations.
- Appeals allowed to higher DENR authorities within 30 days of decision.
Transitory Provisions
- CBFMA to replace various existing tenure instruments including Community Certificate of Forest Stewardship and Forest Land Management Agreements.
- Recognition of prior claims and conversion of existing certificates to updated instruments as appropriate.
Final Provisions
- Effectivity set 30 days after publication.
- Separability clause ensuring other provisions remain valid if any part is invalidated.
- Repeal of inconsistent prior DENR issuances.
This comprehensive legal framework establishes the basis for community-based sustainable forest resource management, guaranteeing rights, defining responsibilities, and ensuring multi-sector cooperation and institutional support.