The event was organized by the UPLB Graduate students of SFFG (Social Forestry & Forest Governance) 201 – Comparative Social Forestry class of 1st Semester, Academic Year 2020-2021 – under faculty-in-charge, Dr. Juan M. Pulhin, Academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST); forester and geographer; UPLB professor and UP Scientist; former dean of the College of Forestry and Natural Resources.

Now more than ever, climate change is exacerbated by a pandemic (of which we expect more) – so, we recognize not only our communities’ central role in rehabilitating and protecting our forests, but also the government and private sector – as forests are a key source of our water, food, energy, medicine and livelihood.

All developments in Social Forestry shared during the webinar were set against the ever ever-extreme impacts of climate change – real and evident in all our lives, observed by the persistent and destructive flooding in Bhutan, Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia over the last decade, claiming thousands of lives and damaging millions worth of properties. This is one of THE core challenges that must be resolved by a consolidated and unified approach of all forest stakeholders, as it has direct implications and opportunities for reducing poverty – the world’s #1 Sustainable Development Goal. SDG # 17 – Partnerships – are also equally critical.

These developments are set against this nexus and reality – but hopefully not future – that we must balance appropriate policy with enforcement mechanisms that are respected as they once were in ancient times.

We are clearly well-positioned to recreate a thriving narrative by working hand in hand with our forest and fisheries communities – who in actual fact and practice are managing our lifelines. Fortunately, as the saying goes, every challenge can be converted into an opportunity; a place to change the narrative and turn the tide.

Across all the countries presented (with the extreme exception of Cambodia and Myanmar), the social forestry practice has generated gross increases in timber and non-timber forest products that can be sustainably managed. But in many cases our terrestrial and marine ecosystems remain under-informed and under-capacitated, therefore  under-developed and under-optimized.

Yet, we also face converging and parallel opportunities  to attract partnerships and investments to support the continued growth of social forestry across the region as one driver of poverty alleviation.  Rightfully so, given that across Southeast Asia, 300 million people live in rural areas and up to 70 million rely on forests (ASFN, 2011).

One thing is clear: social, community-based and inclusive forestry practices have thankfully become central features of successful forest management.  We must therefore further evolve with our communities to change the narrative.

Another recurring theme throughout the webinar was the need to go back to our roots, where sustainable forestry/natural resource management took into account our current needs without compromising the future.Remember the saying by one of the pioneers who put social into forestry – Jack Westoby. The challenge to the forestry world is that ‘forestry is not about trees, it is about people. And it is about trees only insofar as trees can serve the needs of people.’ (Westoby, 1967 cited in Leslie, 1987: ix).

The synthesis presented a simplified stakeholder map of Sweden’s sophisticated forests (see image above). They have doubled in size over the last 100 years, with more than 70% of their landscape covered by forest. Surely, Sweden too once struggled as we (Philippines/Asia) are now. Being host to 4 billion of the world’s near 8 billion peoples, and 1/5th of the world’s forests, we (Asia) hold a vital responsibility to protect our forests, forest cultures and assets; as well as ensuring their sustainable role in providing water, food and energy security. After all, the Earth is the only home we know – it is our only center of marine and terrestrial biodiversity.

The SFFG 201 student organizers felt privileged  that this webinar was not and should never be just another exchange, academic or professional requirement; but, rather, a meaningful and impactful contribution to turning the tipping point in Earth’s favor. It is not only for us or for science that we gathered here today, it is to enable us to take climate change action for future generations of social forestry guardians and practitioners too.

So, how did/does Sweden managed to grow its timber industry as well as its forest cover? The simple answer is that Sweden grows more trees than it chops down. Maybe, our answers and solutions in this complex world can also be simple.

In the end, it is neither government, nor large corporations alone, nor private, public or NGO agents that run our ecosystems, it is ALL OF US. For being the beneficiaries of these ecosystems also implies that we are not only its stakeholders but also its guardians.