Reaping the promises of modern biotechnology for forestry applications

The Philippines is now facing a serious problem in terms of its natural forest resources. From a net exporter of forest products, the country now become a net importer of logs and lumber to sustain its forest industries and to provide the wood requirement of its population. During the last 30 years, industrial tree plantations (ITP) had become a major supplier of industrial wood gradually displacing wood from natural forests. Total logging ban in most areas had provided the impetus to go full scale on ITPs. However, the country made the mistake of using non selected trees for reforestation efforts. The result is poor survival and growth of trees in plantations. Seed production areas (SPAs) had been established to provide selected seeds, but the SPAs were not not properly roughed to remove culled trees. The wood-based industries had established a number of ITPs all over the country using fast-growing species which are mostly of exotic origins. Large plantations of Acacia mangium, Swietenia macrophylla, Eucalyptus species, Paraserianthes falcataria, Gmelina arborea had been established all over the country. The thrust of government of using indigenous species whose silvicultural techniques are not yet known had further slowed down the development of ITPs using fast-growing exotic species. The R and D community had responded by establishing a national forest biotechnology program using conventional biotechnology approaches such as selection of genetically superior trees, mass propagation of selected provenances by macropropagation (cuttings) and micropropagation (tissue culture), use of symbiotic associations (mycorrhiza and biological nitrogen fixation), and commercialization of products. The program is supported by PCARRD-DOST[Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development-Department of Science and Technology], DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources], and the French Government. A forest biotechnology laboratory had been established at UPLB [University of the Philippines at Los Baños] for the mass propagation of selected trees. The present biotechnology program makes use of conventional biotechnology approaches. To reap the potentials of modern biotechnology, the country has to embark immediately on two programs (1) a tree breeding and tree improvement program making use of economically important trees and (2) adopt modern biotechnology tools in forestry practices.