The UPLB Integrated Natural Resources and Environment Management (UPLB-INREM), together with the UPLB College of Forestry and Natural Resources (CFNR), hosted a dialogue among CFNR alums on April 24, 2025 at the CFNR Alumni Guesthouse, themed “Reimagining Forestry: Responding to Global Challenges in the 21st Century.”
The event highlighted the homecoming of and a critical conversation by CFNR alums on the future of forestry in a changing world.
Organized as part of the CFNR Alumni Homecoming, the “Kapehan with Alumni” sought to redefine the role of forestry in today’s environmental and socio-political challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and the needs of vulnerable communities.
CFNR Dean Marlo D. Mendoza opened the program by emphasizing that the “Kapehan with Alumni” was organized to serve as a platform for open dialogue among CFNR alumni and stakeholders to share their insights, experiences, and reflections from the field.
He also encouraged all attendees to contribute ideas and provide feedback that could guide the college’s future directions, especially regarding academic and research relevance and public engagement.
In his keynote presentation, Dr. Juan M. Pulhin, former CFNR dean and founding director of UPLB-INREM, called for a paradigm shift.
“Forestry must no longer operate in isolation,” Dr. Pulhin said. “We must recognize the multidimensional value of forests—not just economically, but in other sectors such as public health, climate change response, biodiversity, and the well-being of indigenous and local communities,” he added.
An open forum, moderated by Dr. Maricel T. Villamayor, professor at the Department of Social Forestry and Forest Governance, brought out various ideas from the alums.
Their recommendations included the following: enhancement of forest biodiversity through avian conservation and habitat restoration; integration of indigenous knowledge into forestry education and practices; inclusion of children and youth as active environmental stakeholders; engagement of the private sector in forest protection through partnerships and ecotourism; and
translation of research into local action via stronger coordination between academe, local government units, and national agencies.
The CFNR leadership also used the occasion to present plans to streamline the BS Forestry program and announce the proposal for a new degree program at the College, the BS in Natural Resources Management (BS NRM), which will focus on integrated landscape and ecosystem management.
Both programs aim to better equip students with real-world skills through expanded internships and stronger institutional linkages.
Dr. Dixon T. Gevaña, professor at the Department of Social Forestry and Forest Governance and director of the CFNR Forestry Development Center, synthesized the open forum.
He framed the discussion using the Futures Triangle concept of anticipating plausible futures that emerge in a riptide between three pushing and pulling corners, each with its own set of drivers and inhibitors.
Using this, he reflected on how forestry must navigate tradition, urgency, and innovation simultaneously, considering the weight of the past, the push of the present, and the pull of the future.
In closing the session, Dr. Pulhin reiterated the value of alum voices in reshaping forestry’s societal role to cater to different stakeholders. The event concluded with a renewed sense of community and shared responsibility in redefining Forestry in the present time. (Kaymart A. Gimutao)
This article was originally published on the official website of the University of the Philippines Los Baños: https://uplb.edu.ph.