There has always been a keen interest in policy formulation and how forest and
natural resources policies respond to the needs of the sector in terms of
assessment and monitoring. Since 1987, more than 70 policies (departmental
administrative orders, memorandum circulars, special orders) have been issued
in the forestry sector alone. This does not include national legislation relating
to the Clean Air Act, Indigenous People’s Rights Act, National Integrated
Protected Areas Act, Mining Act and others. Legislation on sustainable forest
management and a national land-use policy are under preparation. The Forestry
Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree 705) will be amended. The master
plan for the Philippine environment and natural resources is being reviewed
and some sections are being revised.
A policy is only as good as the information on which it is based. Good policies
are able to respond to the needs of the sector and are able to adjust accordingly.
That is why the aggregation of data from the field offices to the policy-making
office is so vital in the formulation of responsive policies. There must be
a conscious, deliberate and institutionalized link between data collection,
the generation of information and policy formulation.
This study evaluated such a link including the flow of forest and natural resources
data and information; the report is organized according to the objectives
listed below. The subsequent sections contain a discussion of the objectives
and the extent to which these were addressed within the constraints and limitations
of the study.
The primary objective of the study was to prescribe the most cost-efficient and
cost-effective methodology for data transfer and information flow. The specific
objectives were to:
The study evaluated the data and information flow within the operational mechanism
of the DENR. It has two major outputs: methodology for data transfer and information
flow for forest and natural resources; and analysis of attribute data and
spatial information as indicators of readiness for GIS implementation.