4.0 Agrarian reform in public lands T he Philippines covers a land area of approximately 30 million hectares, classified into two major categories: alienable and disposable lands (A&D), and forestlands (non-A&D) that is also referred to as the public domain. A&D lands cover 14.2 million hectares and may be issued titles and used for residential, agricultural, commercial and other uses. The remaining 15.8 million hectares are forestland (non-A&D) which are deemed belonging to the State or community and cannot be alienated unless provided for by law.16 Forest dwellers. An estimated 20-30 percent of the population live in classified forestlands, and depend on forests, farmland and fishing waters for their homes, food and livelihoods. They include indigenous peoples, many of whom are without security of tenure. Although there is no comprehensive census of forest dwellers, an estimated 17-22 million people who depend on forests have no legal tenure rights (Fortenbacher and Alave, 2014). Poverty prevails among communities in these areas. Studies show that upland settlers have an average household size of 4.7 people, and earn between PhP23 and PhP52 per person, which is below the World Bankdefined poverty line of US$1.25 a day. Deforestation (estimated at an annual rate of about 100,000 hectares in 2014) further contributes to the marginalization of forest dwellers (Fortenbacher and Alave, 2014). With continued economic and demographic growth, there has been increasing competition for land and natural resources. This leads to unsustainable use, loss and depletion of forest, soil, biological diversity and water resources. Furthermore, climate change and natural disasters further exacerbate these pressures. In the Philippine context, the term “forestland” refers to all property owned (or claimed) by the State based on the official system of land classification. It is a legal and tenurial status, not a botanical description, as in reality much “forestland” may not contain forests or trees. However, lands classified as forest use (aka “forests”) consist of 6.8 million hectares, with 6.1 M hectares in non-A&D lands, and 0.7M hectares in classified A&D lands. Data from DENR. 2016 Philippine Forestry Statistics. 16 Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) 63