Forest resources of Misamis Oriental

Title

Language

English

Year

1953

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

Fore st Resources of Misamis Oriental By VICENTE R. MARABABOL Provincial Forester of Misamis Oriental The province of Misamis Oriental has a total land area of 391,681 hectares. On the bosom of 1his narrow coastal strip of land bordering the Mindanao Sea is a rich stand of timber, which under present estimate represents about 43 per cent of the land area of the province and supporting an industry second to the copra industry. The latest estimate on the extent of the vegetative soil cover of Misamis Oriental is as follows: AREA Stand VOLUME Type of Vegetation per Ha. Cubic Meter Per Cent Hectare cu.m. Per Cent Million Commercial Forest -----------· 42.6 166,760 151.20 1 92.9 16.98 Non-Comm. Forest ______________ 17.8 69,840 20.80 6.8 1.23 Mangrove Swamp --------------- .3 1,140 2 105.90 .3 0.08 Open grassland -------------------· 19.9 77,880 Cultivated ---------------------------- 19.4 76,061 Total ------------------------------ 100.0 I 391,681 277.90 100.0 18.29 The forest of Misamis Oriental like those found in the other provinces belongs to the National government and its exploitation is reserved to our people in accordance with our Constitution. · The greater bulk of the forest is now very much further away from the sea coast and is located in the municipalties of Gingoog, Claveria, upper Merina, Talisayan, Kinoguitan, Saley and Balingasag, and the municipal districts of Lumbia and Lourdes. Most of. what is left of the forest is of the tropical rain type, complex in its composition but generally dominated by the Dipterocarp species. It is estimated that the standing timber throughout Misamis Oriental is around 18.29 million cubic meters with a stumpage value, based on the average forest charges, of no less than 33 million pesos. Its market value is placed at 823 milion pesos, based on the present average local market price of P0.18 per board foot of rough lumber. Under sustained-yield management, the upland forest of Misamis Oriental could stand a yearly cut of 270,000 cubic meters, while mangrove swamp could yield a yearly cut of 1,200 cubic meters. Considering the amount annually removed from her forests of less than 100,000 cubic meters, lumbering in Misamis Oriental can be developed to the point where it can be the premier industry to replace the uncertain copra industry. In fact, if present figures are to be consider1-Stand per hectare of which, 1st group--2.46% consisting of molave, narra, tindalo, yakal; 2nd group -15.16%, almaciga, guijjo, narig, makaasim, bitanghol, balong-eta; 3rd group--51.04%, tangile, mayapis, red lauan, lumbayau, apitong, nato, binggas, oak, pahutan; 4th group--31.34%, white lauan, batete, bagtikan, almon, duguan, miscellaneous species. 2-760 hectares covered with forest. GRADUATION ISSUE-March, 1953 Page 33 ed, the minimum amount of timber that can be removed from the forest of this province can easily be expanded twice its present volume. Accordingly, this will also increase the average annual government revenue on her forest of over P150,000 to close to onethird of a million pesos. The province's commercial forests have an average stand of over 150 cubic meters per hectare, a density which makes logging a profitable venture. The species in commercial quantities found in the order of their abundance are as follows: White Lauan, Tangile, Mayapis, Red Lauan, Batete, Guijo, Lumbayau, Almaciga, Apitong, Nata, Malave, Narra, Bagtikan, Narig and others. Utilization.-Four ( 4) timber licenses (including one license agreement) are operating sawmills with aggregate daily capacity of from 29,000 to 35,000 board feet. Of the timber production of 92, 431 cubic meters (39,201,417 board feet) last year (1950-51), 7 ,224,640 board feet were sawn lumber produced by four ( 4) sawmills as follows: Names Location Daily Capacity Annual Produc in Board Feet tion in Bd. Ft. Anakan Lumber Company Anakan, Gingoog 15,000 2,471,832 Sta. Clara Lumber Co. Lunao, Gingoog 8,000 to 10,000 3,054,272 Claveria Sawmill Luna, Claveria 4,000 to 6,000 1,464,485 Willkom Sawmill Kahalantian, Lourdes 2,000 to 4,000 234,451 Total -----------··-··--······-· 29,000 35,000 7,224,640 Last year, almost ten (10) million board feet of logs and 7 0 million board feet of lumber went into the foreign and local markets. The exportation of logs and lumber were mostly made to Japan, United States, South Africa, British Columbia and Belgium. A comparative statement of production of logs, sawn lumber and export for the past five fiscal years is shown as follows: LUMBER AND LoG PRODUCTION FlloM, 1945 TO 1951 Production Export Fiscal Year Log Lumber (sawn) Log Lumber (Bd. Ft.) (Bd. Ft.) (Bd. Ft.) (Bd. Ft.) 1945-46 ------·------· 162,252 1946-47 ....................... 6,876,756 2,941,075 1947-48 -------------· 26,727,615 13,951,424 1948-49 -------------· 39,667,841 32,032,524 11,089,635 2,535,482 1949-50 ------------- 16,203,096 7,421,965 4,376,508 6,230,724 1950-51 -------------· 39,201,417 6,389,332 10,615,511 5,004,630 The lumber industry in Misamis Oriental bears watching. As of last year it had a neck-to-neck race for supremacy in the foreign trade with the copra and pineapple industries. Timber is available in commercial quantities in Misamis Oriental but what is needed is capital, the investors and men who have the know-how and the courage to invest in the lumber business. Page 34 FORESTRY LEAVES

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