The Bamboo and Rattan Sectors in Asia: an Analysis of ... - INBAR

instruments are several Administrative Orders issued by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). These include: the rattan cutting
licence system, with prescribed cutting limits; collection of special deposits to
encourage replanting; forest charges on rattan; and requirement for a Certificate
of Minor Forest Product Origin (CMFPO) for transportation of unprocessed rattan.
There have also been some progressive changes to encourage community resource
management.
Cutting permits are issued to individuals, cooperatives or corporations. This
gives the rights to the rattan harvested in a given area to the permit holder in return
for licence and royalty payments. While the policy is well-intended, the report notes
problems in its implementation. The CMFPO and associated transport documents are
used as tools to prevent over-harvesting and to collect royalties. However, there are
widespread reports of abuse of the system. The documents are subject to inspection
at various DENR and police checkpoints, and it is common practice on the part of the
officials at these checkpoints to demand extra payments, something referred to as
"standard operating procedure (SOP)". As a result, the under-reporting of rattan cutting
is so extreme that the government records are meaningless. The under-reporting
translates into large losses in revenue to the government, loss of management control
and increased transactions costs in the market.
The actual harvesting of rattan is normally done by local gatherers, for whom
rattan gathering is the main occupation, though many complement it with agriculture.
Living conditions of the gatherers are poor. Average earnings are just P900/month
from rattan and P600 from agriculture and other forest activities (compared with the
official 'poverty line' of P7 000/month/household) (US$1 = P26.30).
The rattan cutters are dependent on the permit holders for the right to cut
rattan. Theoretically the permit excludes unauthorized cutters from the concession
area, and only the permit holders can buy and transport rattan (though enforcement
has proved difficult). Most gatherers also rely on an advance of cash or kind (food
and other provisions) in order to undertake their collecting trips. They are very poor
people, living at or near the subsistence level and they are often unable to make even
the small investment needed to go to the forest to collect rattan. Advances are typically
in the range of P200-400 per week. Accepting the advance commits the gatherer to
sell his rattan to that trader. Moreover, most gatherers rely on a head gatherer to
represent them in transactions with the buyer. The buyers in almost all cases are the
sole source of price and market information.
This level of dependence puts the gatherer in a weak bargaining position. In
general, the rattan gatherers are price takers, with their buyer-traders controlling the
price. Market transactions in the rattan PCS in the Philippines are strongly influenced by
a lack of market information, local monopolies and personal relationships.
One of the interesting features of the Philippine PCS is the recent development
of associations of rattan gatherers. This has been encouraged by government policy.
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