Certificates Stewardship Contract (CSC) of Forestland

There was a fraud case where some group of people tried to sell forestland under Certificates of Stewardship Contracts (CSCs) by means of "transfer of right".

Notes: stewardship is not a ownership, so they have no rights to transfer or sell the land.

Pursuant to Executive Order 192, LOI 1260 implementing the Integrated Social Forestry (ISF) Program, and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, DENR issued IRR covering CSC.

To achieve the national objectives of economic and social development, it is the government policy to democratize the use of public forest land and to promote more equitable distribution of the forest bounty. In line with this policy, the government shall provide security of tenure and assist kaingineros and other deserving forest occupants dependent on forest lands for their livelihood.

Notes: kaingineros means "slash-and-burn farmers". Farmers cut the trees to develop or cultivate crops.

1. Participants
a) Individuals or heads of families who occupied forest lands prior to January 1, 1982; and
b) National Minorities or tribal communities.



2. Security of Tenure
The participants shall be given a tenure over the subject land for a period of 25 years, renewable for an additional 25 years.

3. They can develop under some limitation.

4. They can lease under some limitation.

5. Incentives

a. No fees shall be collected for the use of the allocated land during the first five years of the Stewardship Agreement, provided that annual fees which shall not exceed ten pesos (P10.00) per hectare may thereafter be collected as determined by the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

b. All income/proceeds derived from the land shall accrue to Program participants.

c. Forest products derived and/or harvested from the Project Area shall be exempted from the payment of forest charges.

d. Program participants may mortgage or assign their allocated land to any financial institution as collateral for loans to be used in developing the land.

g. Upon expiration of the Stewardship Agreements, Program participants or their direct heirs shall have the right of preemption to any subsequent Stewardship Agreement covering their allocated land, and when for some reason the government opts not to allocate the land for Stewardship, the participants concerned shall be entitled to just compensation for permanent improvements, introduced, including trees that will not be removed.

6. Prohibited Areas

a. The area is located within a national park, critical watershed, proclaimed watershed or other reservation.

b. The area is the subject of a valid timber license agreement (TLA), pasture lease agreement (PLA), industrial tree plantation lease agreement (ITPLA), agroforestry farm lease agreement (AFLA) or any approved government lease or project for purposes other than the ISF Program.

c. Continued occupancy of the area would result in soil erosion, sedimentation of rivers and streams, reduction in water yield and impairment of other resources to the detriment of community and public interest.