Welcome!
Welcome to the Industrial Tree Plantation (ITP) Geodatabase Portal!
Through this portal, you will be able to visualize, search and download ITP and other related geospatial datasets and information contained in the ITP Geodatabase.
The ITP Geodatabase is a product of “Project 1. Development of an Online Geodatabase of Industrial Tree Plantations in Caraga Region Using Remote Sensing and GIS”, a component of the Research and Innovation Center of Caraga State University, a Niche Centers in the Regions for R&D (NICER) Program funded by the Department of Science of Technology (DOST) through its Science for Change Program (S4CP), and monitored by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD). The ITP Geodatabase is developed in collaboration with the Caraga Center for Geo-Informatics (CCGeo).
Search and Download ITP Data
About
The ITP Geodatabase Portal is an online tool to visualize, search and download ITP and other related geospatial datasets and information contained in the ITP Geodatabase.
The ITP Geodatabase is a product of “Project 1. Development of an Online Geodatabase of Industrial Tree Plantations in Caraga Region Using Remote Sensing and GIS”, a component of the ITP Research and Innovation Center of Caraga State University, a Niche Centers in the Regions for R&D (NICER) Program funded by the Department of Science of Technology (DOST) through its Science for Change Program (S4CP), and monitored by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD). The ITP Geodatabase is developed in collaboration with the Caraga Center for Geo-Informatics (CCGeo).
Why was the Geodatabase Developed?
Caraga Region is the major producer of timber in the Philippines. It supplies about 70% of the timber requirement of the country annually, thus it is tagged as the ‘Timber Corridor of the Philippines’. The timber industry flourishes in the region due largely to the favorable environment and availability of production technologies from big industrial tree plantation (ITP) developers that operated their businesses in Caraga in the past (e.g. PICOP, Provident Tree Farms, Inc., Casilayan Softwood). The established wood processing plants (WPPs) in the region serve as the local markets for timber produced from small to medium tree farms. The favorable agro-climatic and edaphic factors for tree farming and the business environment conducive for wood processing are the two major come-ons for the wood-based industry to locate in Caraga Region.
Recently, with the implementation of Executive Order 23 Series of 2011, the wood-based industry and the various players in the region have been affected due largely to the lack of provisions in the social, environmental and ecological aspects that guarantee the sustainability of the entire system. There had been issues about the log supply contracts and the tree farm certification due to the misconceptions about these policies. The implementation of the EO 23, therefore, resulted to the weakening of the wood industry in Caraga Region because many of the WPPs have closed down. This resulted to the reduction of market opportunities for tree farmers. Nevertheless, this also opens the tree farming business to new opportunities such as wood chips and wood pellets for bioenergy generation.
With the diverse social, economic, environmental and sustainability issues surrounding the wood-based industry in Caraga Region that affect the tree farming communities and the wood processing industry players, an institution that looks closely into the wood industry is essential. In line with this, the Industrial Tree Plantation (ITP) Research and Innovation Center was established to provide science and technological support to tree farming and the wood-based industry in the region.
Along with the establishment of the ITP Center is to develop a geodatabase that will serve as a repository of relevant datasets and baseline information crucial for determining the current and potential value of ITPs as key components in the wood-based industry in Caraga and in the entire country.
The development of the geodatabase also aims to address the limited availability of data and information about the types, locations, spatial arrangements, and total area of ITPs in the regions, including the spatial-temporal aspects of their growth and development, and management dynamics.
With the geodatabase, it is expected that many relevant questions related to ITPs would be easier to answer such as, but not limited to, the following:
- Where are the ITPs located in Caraga Region? What are the extents of these ITPs?
- What ITP species are currently planted?
- Are there areas available for establishing new ITPs? What areas are most suitable to establish new ITPs?
- Where are the processing plants currently located? How efficient are these processing plants in log production? Where should we establish processing plants to ensure efficient log production?
ENGR. JOJENE R. SANTILLAN
Project 1. Development of a Geodatabase of Industrial Tree Plantations in Caraga Region Using Remote Sensing and GIS
Industrial Tree Plantation Research and Innovation Center
Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City
E-mail: jrsantillan@carsu.edu.ph
Contact No.: +63-999-939-8599