Martin R. Reyes

November 8, 1914 - March 26, 2005

Martin R. Reyes was an environmentalist and a humanist who devoted his life to the conservation of the Philippine Forest.

Forestry Consultant Martin R. Reyes of the Philippines received his B.S. degree in forestry in 1952; development executive, 1970, University of the Philippines; and observation in mechanical logging, Philippines, 1952-53; forest management, utilization and research observations in Puerto Rico, Scandinavia and the United States. He was chief of forest management in the Land Uses and Research Divisions of the Philippines Bureau of Forestry from 1964 to 1975 and assistant director of the Forest Research Institute from 1975 to 1979. He was also president of the Philippines Forest Research Society and consultant to FORI.

His expertise in timber management planning led him to design and help implement the initial postwar management systems for Philippine forests. He also was experienced in research planning and administration, particularly on reforestation and watersheds. He helped formulate the 1975 Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines.

Reyes spearheaded the drafting of the bill that became RA 3092, the "Permanent Forest Law." He received many awards, among them the Forestry Achievement Award in 1994 and the Moncano Award (most outstanding alumnus) in 1995 by his alma mater; the Upsilon Sigma Phi Diamond Jubilee Luminary Award in 1994, and the Molave Award by the Zeta Beta Rho in 1990; the Professional Regulations Commission award for "Outstanding Professional in the Field of Forestry; the Philippine Wood Producers Association (PWPA) Merit Award for work on sustained yield forest management in the dipterocarp forest, and the Gold Tree Medal by the forestry bureau where he spent most of his life. He was twice awarded by the Ministry of Natural Resources/Department of Environment and Natural Resources, with the Likas Yaman Award in 1985, and in 1988 "for his relentless efforts to save the forests and renew the environment."

He helped in the modernization of the management, administration and practices of Philippine forestry through his pioneering concept of the selective logging system. For this outstanding feat, he was called the "Father of Selective Logging System of the Philippines."

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