DENR opens 500,000 hectares of Mindanao production forest to investors

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is inviting private investors to develop about 500,000 hectares of production forest across Mindanao, including more than 144,000 hectares in the Davao Region, according to Mindanao Times.

DENR Undersecretary Joselin Marcus E. Fragada made the pitch on Oct. 28 during the second plenary day of the Mindanao Development Forum 2026 at Dusit Thani Davao in Davao City. He said the agency has mapped out 500,011 hectares spread over 2,451 parcels that may be developed under Sustainable Forest Land Management Agreements (SFLMA).

Fragada said the areas are open, brush and production forest lands outside protected areas, critical watersheds and existing tenures. "Our protected forests, high-elevation watersheds, and critical protected areas remain strictly off-limits and conserved," he said.

Caraga accounts for the largest share at 177,201.18 hectares, or 35.4 percent. Davao Region follows with 144,035.25 hectares (28.8 percent), then Soccsksargen with 105,123.75 hectares (21 percent), Zamboanga Peninsula with 39,129.78 hectares (7.8 percent) and Northern Mindanao with 34,521.55 hectares (6.9 percent).

According to Fragada, 272,057 hectares are considered prime for commercial agroforestry of crops common in Mindanao such as coffee, cacao, rubber and other high-value perennials. Around 216,000 hectares are ready for commercial tree plantations meant to reduce reliance on imported wood, while 11,873 hectares are set aside for pasture and ecotourism. He said the program aims to put unused timberland to work and restore the country's standing as a leading wood exporter.

Another 132,896 hectares are earmarked for clean energy, having met technical requirements for utility-scale solar and wind projects, including being within 20 kilometers of National Grid Corporation of the Philippines substations and on slopes under 20 percent.

Under the SFLMA terms, applicants pay a flat P10,000 fee. Plantation and agroforestry operators pay 3 percent of gross revenue, while renewable energy projects pay P7,200 per hectare a year with a 10 percent annual increase. Investors in protection forest restoration pay no user fee.

"We have made the State your partner, not your bottleneck," Fragada said, urging businesses to invest in natural capital provided they also support forest protection, tree planting and partnerships with indigenous communities.