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History
The Forest Products Research and Development Institute
(FPRDI) was created in 1954 as the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL)
under the then Bureau of Forestry. It was located, as it is
now, in the campus of the University of the Philippines Los Banos-
College of Forestry and Natural Resources (UPLB-CFNR).
The Laboratory was established in response to the
need for information and technology on the utilization of timber
resources as well as non-wood forest products. At that time
the Philippines was the prime exporter of forest products in Asia.
Since then, the FPL has undergone numerous transformations:
as the Forest
Products Research Institute (FPRI) under the University of the Philippines
(UP) from 1957 to 1969;
as the Forest
Products Research and Industries Development Commission (FORPRIDECOM)
under the National Science Development Board (NSDB) and then the
National Science and Technology Authority (NSTA) from 1969 to 1982
and finally
as the FPRDI
under the NSTA from 1982 to 1986.
After the EDSA Revolution, the NSTA was reorganized
into the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). The
FPRDI was retained under the department and restructured internally
to address the changing needs of the forest-based industries.
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