Preamble
WHEREAS, the continuous management, development and utilization of the forest resources are indispensable to the economic development of the country and social well-being of the Filipino people; WHEREAS, scientific forest management, rational development and vigilant protection are essential to the continuous productivity and economic utilization of these resources; WHEREAS, Government efforts in the scientific treatment of these forests have been invariably inadequate and inappropriate to cope with the accelerating rate of utilization, resulting in the increasing hectarage of unproductive forests and eroded lands, decreasing areas of commercial forests and raising incidence of damaged watersheds, ravaged wildlife sanctuaries, and abused grazing lands; WHEREAS, if this critical trend continues unabated and unless forest management, development, and protection methodologies are improved through intensified forest biological and economic research, it is inevitable that these valuable resources will no longer be able to meet the increasing demands of the growing population and the country's economic development needs; WHEREAS, the root cause of this situation is the grave inadequacy of forest research which is the basis for forest management, development and protection practices; WHEREAS, the current accelerated wood utilization research should be properly accompanied by an equally aggressive forest production and harvesting research in order to attain a balance necessary for the forest resource to contribute its maximum share to the economic development of the country; WHEREAS, in order to initiate and maintain an effective research program attuned to the needs of forest management, production and protection, it is necessary to set up a semi-autonomous organization free from the administrative complexities of bureaucratic agencies. NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby decree and order: