Rules and Regulations Governing Sustainable Forest Land Management Agreement (SFLMA)

DENR Administrative Order No. 2025-22

Subject: Rules and Regulations Governing Sustainable Forest Land Management Agreement (SFLMA)

Signed: June 2, 2025 . Pages: 45

Note: Subsequently amended by DAO 2026-07 to exclude CBFMA from coverage and centralize forest tenure applications at the Forest Management Bureau (FMB).

Legal Basis

Pursuant to Article XII, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution; Section 19 of PD 705 as amended (Revised Forestry Code); EO 192 (Reorganization of DENR); EO 263 (Adopting Community-Based Forest Management as the National Strategy); EO 318 (Promoting Sustainable Forest Management); and EO 278 s. 1987 (Interim Procedures for Processing Applications for Development/Utilization of Forestlands).

SECTION 1. Basic Policy

State policy to:

1. Protect and advance Filipino people's rights to a balanced and healthful environment
2. Promote economic development and employment based on sound resource development
3. Improve socio-economic conditions of local and cultural communities through social justice and equitable access to forest land resources
4. Protect population from natural hazards (floods, landslides, biodiversity loss, air pollution, drought) and ensure food, energy, and water security
5. Promote climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration and adaptation by maintaining and enhancing forest ecosystems

SECTION 2. Objective

Harmonize various guidelines and requirements to streamline forest tenure issuance, encourage investments that diversify sustainable forest use, increase forest productivity, enhance biodiversity, promote climate and disaster resilience, provide incentives for maintaining forest cover and ecosystem services, broaden stakeholders to receive benefits, and ensure continuous production of goods and services through multiple use strategy.

SECTION 3. Scope and Coverage

Governs forest lands outside Protected Areas found suitable and available for management, development, conservation, protection, and utilization. May also cover areas with existing Forest Tenure Instruments prior to effectivity, subject to existing guidelines.

SECTION 4. Key Definitions

• SFLMA - Sustainable Forest Land Management Agreement
• Annual Accomplishment Report (AAR) - yearly report by SFLMA holder on activities, development, and improvements per approved Development and Management Plan (IDMP) or Sustainable Forest Land Management Plan (SFLMP)
• Abandonment - physical absence of SFLMA Holder and/or failure to accomplish improvement/development for at least one (1) year, except force majeure
• Agroforestry - land-use systems including silvipasture, agrosilvipasture where forestry species, agricultural crops, and animals are used deliberately on the same parcel
• Assignment or Transfer - act of transferring SFLMA rights to another person/entity with prior written approval of the DENR Secretary, subject to qualifications and obligations
• Certificate of Non-Overlap (CNO) - issued by NCIP attesting non-overlap with ancestral domain
• Certification Precondition (CP) - issued by NCIP attesting to FPIC by concerned ICCs/IPs
• CBFMA - Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (25-year term, renewable for another 25 years) [Note: now governed by DAO 2004-29 per DAO 2026-07]
• Development Contract - contract between project proponent and government agencies for developing SFLMA areas into plantations (timber, latex, fruits, agroforestry, livestock)
• Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) - DENR/EMB document certifying no significant negative environmental impact based on EIA/EIS
• Forest Land - land of the public domain comprising public forest, permanent forest/forest reserves, and forest reservations
• FLGMA - Forest Land Grazing Management Agreement (production sharing for grazing purposes)

Source: User-uploaded official DENR PDF (DAO-2025-22, 45 pages). Full sections on application procedures, evaluation, terms and conditions, performance bonds, and termination in source PDF.