Evaluating the Effectiveness of Forest Management Practices in the Philippines: A Content Analysis of the National Greening Program

Abstract

Through the utilization of best practices and management plans, the Philippines has long proved its dedication to sustainable forest management. But are the upland forests of the Philippines being appropriately managed? A study by the Commission on Audit (2019), the Philippines’ Forest cover was lost at a staggering rate of 60%. Because of this alarming decline, the government created various forest management plans to address forest loss and degradation. The National Greening Program (NGP) was an intervention that the government implemented in 2011 to reinforce its commitment to sustainable forest management. Despite the conception of the NGP, there were reports of unsuccessful implementation of its reforestation activities on ground level. To evaluate the success of the NGP, this paper aims to assess the effectiveness of the National Greening Program, focusing on the accomplishments of its reforestation activities. A qualitative content analysis of textual data from available open-access journal articles and publications between 2011 and 2023 was utilized. The instrumentation used the coding scheme of validated textual data from journal articles and publications during the last ten years, focusing on the National Greening Program’s accomplishments as a reforestation approach. The evaluation of NGP’s accomplishments is important to understand how well the NGP’s goals are being met within the program. It also identifies the best forest management practices that were employed to achieve reforestation goals. Furthermore, suggestions are made as to how NGP best