Total log ban to lead to loss of P30-B investments

MANILA, Philippines –  A total log ban will result in the loss of P30 billion worth of investments and the dislocation of 650,000 workers nationwide, the Society of Filipino Foresters Inc. said.

“A nationwide ban on logging will result in adverse socio economic impacts to the forest industry and the country’s economy,” Ric M. Umali, the group’s past president, said in a statement.

He said the log ban will also cause the escalation of prices of wood and housing units. The Philippine Wood Producers Association (PWPA) earlier said a total log ban will lead to the massive retrenchment of about 650,000 direct workers in the wood processing and furniture industry particularly in the countryside, which might, in turn, cause serious social unrest.

It will also lead to the loss of at least P30 billion in investments in the wood industry as they will be forced to shut down, thus, also dislocating about 1.5 million people who are indirectly employed in the wood industry.

The country will also lose the export market for high value-added finished products estimated at $1 billion a year.

Umali said the country needs 2.5 million cubic meters of wood to supply its wood-based industry that sells to the local and international markets. About 1.2 million cubic meters come from local sources while the rest is supplied from wood imports.

“If a log ban will be imposed, prices of wood products to be imported will skyrocket hurting consumers especially the lower income class. Tight supply can lead to more illegal logging,” Umali said.

Once the country has become totally dependent on wood imports, Umali said it will be at the mercy of exporting countries in terms of pricing and supply.

“The government’s mass housing program, which is one of the priority sectors of the Aquino administration, will surely be hurt once we become a mere importer of wood products. Surely, housing will become more inaccessible to the masses as wood prices skyrocket due to tight supply,” Umali said.

“A logging ban will become a self-inflicted wound on the country’s economy as the National Treasury’s reserves are utilized for the unavoidable importation of wood for general construction. The opportunity loss will be most difficult to justify when another country’s forest-based industry would benefit from our ill-advised ideas,” he added.

There are now pending bills in Congress that seek to regulate the forestry sector, although there are also extreme proposals that call for a ban on logging, Umali said.

Meanwhile, the PWPA is seeking an audience with President Aquino to present at length their argument that plantation forests alone will not sustain the wood requirements of the country and to show how legitimate members of their industry have been able to successfully practice sustainable forestry management.

In an interview with The STAR, PWPA president Antonio Olizon expressed the group’s disappointment at the issuance of Executive Order 23 which imposes an indefinite total log ban on natural and residual forests. –-Ma. Elisa P. Osorio (The Philippine Star) with Marianne Go