Forest Resources Act of 2013.

The provisions of this Act shall apply to all lands of the public domain classified as needed for forestry purposes, all forestlands, all forest resources found in untitled agricultural lands and in private lands: Provided, that all forests and forest resources found in protected areas established under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) shall be sustainably managed and developed following the provisions of Republic Act No. 7586 or the NIPAS Act of 1992: Provided further, that the rights of indigenous cultural communities or indigenous peoples to their ancestral domains shall be respected. All forestlands and forest resources therein under the administrative jurisdiction of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) shall be managed, developed and conserved in accordance with the Regional Sustainable Forest Management Act of 2003 of the ARMM.
The State adopts the following policies relative to the management, development and conservation of forests and resources: i. Within five years, the specific limits of forestlands shall be fixed and demarcated. The Congress shall also determine specific limits of forestlands and national parks, marking clearly their boundaries on the ground. The Congress may determine, measures to prohibit logging in endangered forests and watershed areas; ii. The use and conservation of forest resources shall bear social, ecological, biological and economic functions, responsibility, and accountability to promote the common good of the present and future generations; iii. The guiding principle in the sustainable and integrated management, development, and conservation of forest resources shall be to focus on these resources and on the people who manage, conserve, and benefit from them; iv. Biodiversity protection and conservation of wildlife resources and their habitats, consistent with Republic Act No. 9147 shall be a paramount consideration in forest management. v. Genetically Engineered (GE) and transgenic trees pose the gravest of dangers to forest ecosystems and violate the Convention on Biological Diversity. b. The State shall protect the rights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral domains to ensure their socio-economic and cultural well-being and shall recognize the applicability of customary laws in governing property rights or relations in determining the ownership and extent of ancestral domains; c. The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development; d. The State shall encourage non-governmental, community-based, or sectoral organizations that promote the welfare of the nation; e. The State shall ensure the autonomy of local governments; and f. The State shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states, the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination.