Vanishing forests: Why is the Philippines failing at reforestation?

What the report says

Al Jazeera’s 101 East, working with Lighthouse Reports, examines why the Philippines’ National Greening Program has fallen short of its reforestation goals. The programme was launched by the Philippine government in 2011 as an ambitious effort to restore forests and improve degraded land by paying local people to plant and care for millions of trees.

According to the report, the effort has struggled over about 15 years to meet most of its targets. The investigation uses satellite imagery and field reporting to show that some forest areas appear to have been lost rather than protected, raising questions about how the programme has been implemented and monitored.

The piece also highlights concerns among Indigenous communities, some of whom fear the initiative could threaten land they depend on for their livelihoods. The report suggests that the gap between the programme’s aims and its results has had consequences for both forest recovery and local land rights.

As presented by Al Jazeera, the story is significant because the Philippines is home to important forest ecosystems, and large-scale regreening schemes are often used as climate and conservation tools. The findings add context to broader debates about whether tree-planting targets alone are enough without stronger protection of existing forests and clearer safeguards for communities.