Where have the forests gone? A reckoning with reforestation initiatives

The view from Masungi is both hope and heartbreak: regrowth in one place, emptiness in the rest. An urgent question echoes: Where have the forests gone?It’s a question that hits close to home. This June, the World Resources Institute and Google DeepMind, through Global Forest Watch, revealed an alarming 80 percent increase in tropical primary forest loss from 2023 to 2024. That’s over six million hectares of ancient forests gone—many of them torched by human-set fires worsened by a stronger El Niño and a heating planet. These weren’t just trees—they were carbon stores, habitats, and natural buffers that we can no longer afford to lose.Alongside this, The Nature Conservancy released a new global map showing where reforestation can make the biggest difference. It’s a shift from planting everywhere to planting wisely—prioritizing areas where trees can survive, thrive, and deliver real benefits to climate, biodiversity, and people. They call it “rightsizing” reforestation. The message is clear: Doing better means being smarter.Back home, the reckoning feels even more urgent. A joint exposé by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and Davao Today took a hard look at the National Greening Program (NGP), once the country’s flagship reforestation initiative. It revealed inflated survival rates, ghost plantations, and forests lost just a few years after being declared “restored.” Critics now call it the “National Greenwashing Program.” Marlo Mendoza, a professor from UPLB who helped design the NGP, summed it up best: “Where are the forests?”**media[19904]**We owe the country a better answer than we’ve given so far.First, we need scalable and enduring models for forest protection. While extractive industries gain long-term access to natural resources through tenurial instruments like Special Use Agreements in Protected Areas (SAPA), reforestation efforts are still treated as short-term, piecemeal projects. The Masungi Geopark Project—restoring 2,700 hectares of degraded limestone forest—demonstrates what sustained, boots-on-the-ground commitment can accomplish. But it shouldn’t be the exception. The government must create enabling conditions and incentives for civil society and private sector partners to help fulfill our shared mandate of ecological restoration.Second, we must address the real threats—land grabbing and syndicates—not environmental defenders. As long as forest land remains vulnerable to encroachment and political interference, no amount of planting will be enough. Protecting forests must become a frontline priority—not an afterthought behind administrative tasks.**media[19903]**Third, monitoring and evaluation must become the norm, not the exception. New tools like satellite imaging, drone surveillance, and AI models already exist. When paired with transparency and community reporting, they can help ensure reforestation isn’t just a paper exercise—but a living, measurable reality.Because in the Philippines, reforestation isn’t a public relations tool. It’s a survival strategy. It protects our watersheds, regulates our climate, sustains biodiversity, and shields vulnerable communities from climate extremes.We are past the point of planting for show. We must now plant for permanence.It’s time to answer Marlo Mendoza’s question: Where are the forests?Let’s show—not tell—what real reforestation looks like.