Philippine forest cover is improving under the Marcos administration, with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources expecting its next national forest cover analysis to show an increase of almost 2% across the country, Forest Management Bureau (FMB) Assistant Director Ray Thomas Kabigting said Saturday.
Kabigting made the statement in an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday on August 15, as part of the DZRH SONA 2026 Series featuring the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
He said the improvement is a result of the administration’s focus on rehabilitation as a priority, shifting resources toward areas where forest recovery will have the greatest impact on water supply and biodiversity.
“Nag-improve po tayo at nag-e-expect din po tayo ngayong next na paglabas po natin ng forest cover analysis natin, may ine-expect po tayong almost 2% na increase sa buong Pilipinas po ‘yun,” Kabigting said.
He said one of the key drivers of the forestry investment push is the recognition that 85% of the country’s wood demand is currently met through imports, a situation President Marcos himself flagged as unacceptable given the Philippines’ natural forest resources.
“85% po ng ating wood demand o ‘yung pangangailangan natin sa kahoy para po sa mga kagamitan natin dito ay imported na. Hindi po dapat, dahil mayroon po tayong sariling atin na mas mura at mas matitibay, at ‘yun po ‘yung gusto nating mangyari,” Kabigting said.
He said all current DENR forestry programs are oriented toward reversing this dependence on imported wood by expanding domestic forest investments and increasing the country’s productive forest area.
Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the forest cover improvement is complemented by the PENCAS framework, which assigns economic value to ecosystem services so that decisions on forest use are guided by a full accounting of what forests provide to communities and the national economy.
