Assessment of the forest administration of Mount Makiling Forest Reserve (MMFR) and Mindoro State University forest reserve (MFR): A comparative analysis

The study was conducted to compare the forest management of the two forest reserves under the leadership of the universities. The first forest reserve assessed was the Mount Makiling Forest Reserve (MMFR) – managed by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the second is the Mindoro State University Forest Reserve (MFR) – managed by the Mindoro State University (MSU). The study used descriptive and comparative analysis that assessed and compared the components of forest governance with a specific focus on forest administration and management of the two forest reserves. The two forest reserves show huge differences in governance that made them divisible from one another. The MMFR has established facilities, policies and frameworks, cooperative stakeholders, knowledgeable managers, and financial stability. This is the result of the hard work through participatory strategies involving the key players that reinforced the protection of Mount Makiling by the UPLB. While, the MFR is the opposite of MMFR in terms of governance, facilities and policy formulation including the institutional framework. The result of this is massive because it weakens the management system and will largely impact the security of the forest. Though UPLB has exerted efforts in the management of Mount Makiling, still they encountered issues that need to be resolved. On the other hand, MinSU Forest Reserve has a lot of things to do in terms of forest management and administration. Thus, this paper enumerated recommendations to improve forest resource management and administration for MMFR and MFR.