THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Friday said it is expanding its rattan gene bank in Bukidnon to boost the supply of quality planting materials for the furniture and handicraft industries, while easing pressure on wild rattan populations.
The initiative comes as the value of production index for wood, bamboo, cane and rattan products rose 18.1 percent in April.
Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the project supports the Marcos administration’s push to create livelihood opportunities through ecosystem protection and nature-based industries.
The gene bank, operated by the DENR’s Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB), will produce planting materials for sustainable rattan plantations and help strengthen the industry’s supply of raw materials.
The project includes the establishment of a permanent nursery and a 10-hectare rattan plantation within the Malaybalay Experimental Forest.
It will also train people’s organizations, local government units, DENR field offices, Indigenous communities and private stakeholders in seed collection, nursery management and plantation establishment.
Among the beneficiaries is the Woodstock Forest Stewards Association in Bukidnon, whose members will be trained to propagate rattan wildlings and seedlings for sale to plantation developers, government greening programs and private buyers.
Cuna said investments in science-based restoration and sustainable supply chains could help protect natural resources while generating long-term economic opportunities for communities.
Established in 1992, the five-hectare Rattan Gene Bank is located within the Malaybalay Experimental Forest in Bukidnon.
The facility conserves 30 native rattan species and serves as a living repository of the country’s rattan genetic resources.
The Philippines is home to an estimated 64 to 80 rattan species and varieties, with the ERDB maintaining a living collection representing much of this diversity.