DOST-FPRDI

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 Baños-College of Forestry and Natural Resources (UPLBCFNR).

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.