Convenors

Asian Development Bank (ADB)
ADB or Asian Development Bank is a multilateral development finance institution dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific. Its goal is to help improve the quality of people’s lives by providing loans and technical assistance for a broad range of development activities and it differs from other commercial banks as it is mostly engaged in public sector lending for development purposes in its developing member countries.

ADB focuses on poverty reduction, thereby emphasizing promotion of pro-poor and sustainable economic growth, social development and good governance. To support the above, ADB also concentrates on the protection of the environment and the promotion of gender and development. Over the years, ADB has played a significant role in economic and social transformation in Asia and the Pacific: boosting economic growth, fostering social development, and helping improve the quality of life for millions of people. ADB also provides project-lending assistance based on the following considerations: economic viability, technical feasibility and financial soundness, effect on development activity in the country concerned, contribution to the removal of economic bottlenecks, capacity of the borrowing country to service additional external debt, introduction of new technologies to raise productivity, expansion of job opportunities, strengthening of institutions according to criteria of good governance and the integration of environmental and social considerations into ADB projects.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
The DENR or the Department of Environment and Natural Resources focuses on forest administration, as well as several concerns related to the management of a wide range of natural resources, such as forest management, inventory and protection, land classification, watershed protection, water, biodiversity and mineral resources conservation. The department is mandated to be the primary government agency responsible for the conservation, management, development and proper use of the country’s environment and natural resources, including those in reservations, watershed areas and lands of the public domain, as well as the licensing and regulation of all natural resources utilization as may be provided by law in order to ensure equitable sharing of the benefits derived there for the welfare of the present and future generations of Filipinos.

The various bureaus and agencies associated with the DENR are the following: Environmental Management, Forest Management, Mines and Geosciences, Protected Areas and Wildlife, Land Management, Ecosystems Research and Development. NAMRIA or National Mapping and Resource Information Authority and Laguna Lake Development Authority are 2 of its attached agencies.

U.P. Los Baños College of Forestry and Natural Resources (UPLB-CFNR)
UPLB-CFNR or U.P. Los Ba ñ os College of Forestry and Natural Resources is the oldest academic institution in forestry in the Philippines. CFNR currently offers the Bachelor of Science or BS in Forestry, Diploma in Forestry, the Pulp and Paper Technology major of the BS Chemical Engineering curriculum, the Masters of Forestry, and the MS and PhD degrees in Forestry. The college consists of the Institute of Renewable Natural Resources, Department of Social Forestry and Forest Governance, Department of Forest Products and Paper Science, and the Department Forest Biological Sciences. It also has four non-academic units; the Training Center for Tropical Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability (TREES), Forestry Development Center (FDC), Institute of Agroforestry (IAf), and the Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystems (MCME).

The College aims to be a center of excellence in forestry and natural environment sciences, an enterprising and dynamic leader in the sustainable and people-oriented management of forest resources and the natural environment, towards a better quality of life. It has trained various people in sustainable development of forest resources and the natural environment and has advanced the frontiers of knowledge in forestry and natural environment through basic, adaptive, strategic, and policy-oriented research. One of its many achievements is having The Commission on Higher Education declared CFNR as a Center of Excellence in Forestry Education on January 11, 2000. The College’s main concerns are Forests, Natural Resources, Environment and People and it recognizes two vital realities: forests should be viewed in the wider context of environmental stability; and forests should be managed for the benefit of the people.

The Society of Filipino Foresters Inc. (SFFI)
SFFI or The Society of Filipino Foresters Inc. is a professional organization of registered foresters in the Philippines accredited by the Professional Regulation Commission. The Society is dedicated to promote the science, technology, education, practice, and business of forestry in the country and subscribes to the concept that what is good for the forest, the forestry sector, and the forestry profession is good for the country and vice-versa. It supports Sustainable Forest Management as the overarching strategy and policy thrust to derive multiple benefits from forest resources for present and future generations.

Sustainable Forest Management, or SFM, maintains and enhances the long-term health of forest ecosystems while providing ecological, economic, social and cultural opportunities for the benefit of present and future generations. SFFI believes that SFM is highly possible with a core of qualified and capable forestry professionals.

Philippines Wood Producers Association (PWPA)
The Philippine Wood Producers Association (PWPA) is the national association of corporations, partnerships and individuals involved in forest management, logging, forest plantation development and manufacturing, trading, shipping and sales of various wood products. This organization aims to unite the participants of the wood industry in both the government and private sectors, promote proper natural and forest management, enhance effective ways to utilize timber and protect the wood industry against unfair trade practices.