Suchergebnisse

This paper presents results of a case study of the SANREM's research project and two other UAF case studies in the Central Highland of Vietnam. These studies used similar participatory research approach to generate empirical evidences to patterns of land use change as these are influenced by multidimensional factors. Environmental consequences associated with these land changes were also reported. The paper shows that changes in economic policies, institutions and market access led to a large transformation of forestland into agriculture. The rapid expansion and intensification of agricultural production, driven in part by expanding population, places high pressure on the natural resource base and causes high negative externalities in the uplands, particularly in marginal lands. In all case studies, rates of degradation of forests, soils, and water remain high and threaten agricultural sustainability. Recently, national and local government took some efforts to overcome negative environmental consequences of agricultural development in the uplands, but their impacts are still limited. Balancing agricultural development and environmental protection is currently a major challenge for upland development. For meeting this challenge, the paper emphasizes the need for setting enabling policies and institutional framework that better promote sustainable agriculture and natural resource management practices in the uplands.

This paper reviews the implementation of one major environmental regulation in the Philippines, i.e., the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) system. This deals with the process of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) required of projects or undertakings that have environmental implications. The paper looks into the following aspects - policies and procedures, institutions, and coordination among stakeholders involved in the EIS system. It examines the role of local government units (LGUs) in the implementation of the EIS system and recommends measures to improve the ECC policy and governance at the local level.

This paper draws concepts from the experiences in Manupali Watershed in Bukidnon, Philippines. Participatory process has become imperative in agricultural development work because of the dismal failures of conventional top-down models. Because farmers are the main stakeholders of the Manupali watershed, they need to become equal partners in development actions that concern them. To achieve this, a new paradigm is required. This paper focuses on the central question of how participatory process can be institutionalized in natural resources planning and management. In the case of Manupali watershed with various stakeholders and different levels of control, it is viewed that local capacity building results to a gradual sharing of power among local stakeholders and in the longer term leads to a more sustainable use of watershed resources. This paper outlines the attempt to institutionalize the process via training needs assessment (TNA) and related capacity in the watershed. This paper aims to contribute to the discussion on how stakeholders participation can be made meaningful and can be integrated into existing institutions and local community processes particularly in the household level.

© 2019, University of the Philippines Los Banos. All rights reserved. Climate change has become a major threat to the livelihoods of many farmers in the Philippines, particularly among the indigenous groups. It has been recognized that traditional knowledge is an important source of information for climate change adaptation, for embedded into it are coping strategies evolved through and passed on to generations. This study documented through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and farm visits the indigenous knowledge for climate change adaptation of the Suludnons and Ati in Iloilo. Since 2003, their communities experienced climate change as manifested by strong typhoons, landslides, and the various forms of crop and human diseases. Their responses to climate change include biodiversity-based cropping systems, changes in cropping calendar, use of indigenous varieties, consumption of non-traditional/wild foods, indigenous warning systems and diversified income sources. Both indigenous groups are beneficiaries of government and non-government projects, grants and agricultural trainings where they learned new farming technologies. The traditional practices combined with the adoption of selected agricultural technologies have helped the have helped the Suludnon and the Ati groups become become sustainable and climate-resilient farming communities amidst the adverse impact of climate change on their lives.

Climate change has become a major threat to the livelihoods of many farmers in the Philippines, particularly among the indigenous groups. It has been recognized that traditional knowledge is an important source of information for climate change adaptation, for embedded into it are coping strategies evolved through and passed on to generations. This study documented through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and farm visits the indigenous knowledge for climate change adaptation of the Suludnons and Ati in Iloilo. Since 2003, their communities experienced climate change as manifested by strong typhoons, landslides, and the various forms of crop and human diseases. Their responses to climate change include biodiversity-based cropping systems, changes in cropping calendar, use of indigenous varieties, consumption of non-traditional/wild foods, indigenous warning systems and diversified income sources. Both indigenous groups are beneficiaries of government and non-government projects, grants and agricultural trainings where they learned new farming technologies. The traditional practices combined with the adoption of selected agricultural technologies have helped the have helped the Suludnon and the Ati groups become become sustainable and climate-resilient farming communities amidst the adverse impact of climate change on their lives.

This study outlines the changes in agricultural policies and market conditions in Vietnam for the last 20 years characterized with gradual decentralization and integration in the global economy. Using a case study approach, the study examines how these institutional changes influence land use and land management and the impacts on the environment and the livelihood systems among members of a local community in the uplands of Vietnam. Preliminary analysis at the local level shows that changes policies and market conditions result in a rapid transformation of the socio-economic and biophysical landscape in this upland community. Large forest area had been converted into commercial agricultural land. Results of the study also show that farmers base their decisions on short-term market expectations rather than on long-term market information. This lends them more vulnerable to greater economic losses in the long term as shown by the behavior of mulberry and coffee production in the study area. Farmers had not only opened new forest land for coffee cultivation but also shifted from mulberry to coffee after 1994 when the price of coffee beans increased. However, there are risks associated with coffee, as a monocrop in a large area such as fluctuation in market prices and environmental degradation. The study provides empirical evidence to the complex interplay of policies and market conditions on land use, land management and livelihood system of the Vietnamese upland farmers. The study raises issues relating to the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices and the need for agricultural land use planning that aims to deal with the fluctuating global market without compromising the welfare of small farmers and landholders.