The Out of Danger Project: Tree Farm & Forest for Native, Vulnerable, and Endangered Trees

creating a Philippine Native Tree Farm & Forest

We are creating a farm growing native and endangered Philippine trees. The Philippines is blessed with many species of beautiful, premium trees. The utility and beauty of the wood provided by these trees, along with a loss of habitat, have led to a dramatic decline in their wild populations. Many of these species are vulnerable, threatened, or critically endangered.

We have a vision of planting an eight (8) ha. farm with the intent of harvesting a portion of the trees while leaving trees on the other portion to grow indefinitely as a native forest. With this in mind, we are starting our farm to try to prove the concept that raising native trees in the Philippines can achieve the following goals:

To help preserve species of native Philippine trees which are under threat, and to provide habitat for other species of Philippine flora and fauna.
To relieve pressure on the few remaining wild native trees by providing sustainable and renewable sources of premium timber. We believe if enough of these trees are available commercially, the desire to exploit wild populations will be reduced.
To reforest previously-cleared areas with native, vulnerable, and threatened trees.
To model how raising native Philippine trees can lead to profitable farming operations. Many of these trees provide highly valuable wood. While the income from their harvest is not as immediate as traditional crops, many species are quite fast growing - some species can reach harvestable sizes in 10 - 15 years. Often, commercial tree planting focuses on nonnative species. While this does provide a valuable product, we believe many native Philippine trees can be more profitable while also serving the other purposes outlined here.
To provide information on species which are not commonly grown for income. If a more complete picture is given of the time, costs involved, and profit obtainable from growing native species, others can begin similar ventures with more confidence.
To create a source of rare native Philippine trees for others who would like to plant them.
To sequester carbon in the form of a useful, valuable, and natural material.

We believe this farm will serve as encouragement to others to convert farmland from more traditional crops to raising native trees.

We planted the following species in the first season:

Toog (Petersianthus quadrialatus) Philippine Rosewood (IUCN: Near Threatened and decreasing)
Species from the genus Diospyros. These (and others below) are reportedly very slow growing, but we would like to plant them for future generations to enjoy. These include:
- Kamagong Gubat (Diospyros philippinensis) (DAO 2017-11: Vulnerable, IUCN: Near Threatened and decreasing)
- Bolong-Eta (Diospyros pilosanthera) (DAO 2017-11: Vulnerable)
Dungon (Heritiera sylvatica/Tarrietia sylvatica) Hardwood good for construction.
Species from the genus Shorea. These are valuable timber species, with various rates of growth. These include:
- Red Lauan (Shorea negrosensis) (DAO 2017-11: Vulnerable)
- Guijo (Shorea guiso) (IUCN: Vulnerable and decreasing
Tindalo (Afzelia rhomboidea) (IUCN: Vulnerable, DAO 2017-11: Endangered) High quality timber for furniture or construction

Narra (Pterocarpus indicus) (IUCN: Endangered, DAO 2017-11: Vulnerable). The national tree of the Philippines. It produces beautiful yellow flowers and valuable timber. According to IUCN It is possibly extinct in Sri Lanka and Viet Nam.
Molave (Vitex parviflora) (DAO 2017-11: Endangered) Hardwood resistant to termites with a nice blonde color.
Kalantas / Philippine Sandalwood (Toona calantas) (DAO 2017-11: Vulnerable)
Ipil (Intsia bijuga) (IUCN Near Threatened)
Supa (Sindora supa) (IUCN Vulnerable, decreasing)
Akle (Albizia acle)
Kamtog (Erythroploeum densiflora)
Amugis (Koordersiodendron pinnatum) (DAO 2017-11: Other threatened species)
Malauban (Planchonia spectabilis) (IUCN: Near Threatened Decreasing)
Betis (Madhuca betis) (IUCN Vulnerable, DAO 2017-11: Endangered)
Yakal Saplungan (Hopea plagata) (IUCN: Critically Endangered, DAO 2017-11: Vulnerable)
Apitong Broadleaf (Dipterocarpus kunstleri) (IUCN: Critically Endangered, DAO 2017-11: Vulnerable)
Liusin (Maranthes corymbosa)
Narig (Vatica mangachapoi) (IUCN: Vulnerable, DAO 2017-11: Endangered)
Makaasim (Syzygium nitidum) (DAO 2017-11: Vulnerable)
Yakal Kaliot (Hopea malibato) (IUCN: Vulnerable, DAO 2017-11: Critically endangered)
Malabato (Teijsmanniodendron shermianum)
Yakal Manggachappui (Hopea Aminata)
Dao (Dracontomelon dao) (DAO 2017-11: Vulnerable)
Bolong Tindalo (Afzelia rhomboidea) (IUCN: Vulnerable, DAO 2017-11: Endangered)

There are many other native trees we would like to plant - The Philippines is home to thousands of species. We appreciate your help!