Community-based management planning and payment for environmental services: the case of the Subanen of Misamis Occidental, Philippines

Issue Date

4-2015

Abstract

This paper explores the use of community-based management planning (CBMP) in developing a Payment for Environmental Services (PES) scheme for the conservation of Layawan Watershed, particularly the services that the Subanen Tribe provides. The study used the participatory three-dimensional modelling (P3DM) as a tool in community-based management planning. The tool served as guide in identifying land uses and the management strategies to be used for the management planning. Community-based management plans were developed
with the vision of uplifting the Subanen’s status of living and at the same time conserving and protecting the Layawan watershed. However, the communities do not have sufficient means of livelihood to support their needs, and if this is allowed
to continue, it can make them turn to extractive and possibly destructive activities within the watershed. Recognizing Subanen’s important role in protecting the watershed and securing watershed services, there is a need to support the
Subanen, possibly through a sustainable financing mechanism such as PES. Through P3DM, the communities were able to visualize their current situation in a holistic way. They were able to appreciate the connection between their livelihood and the surrounding environment, paving the way for their willingness to participate
in a PES scheme as environmental services (ES) providers of the Layawan watershed. The communities recognized that the conservation and protection of the Layawan Watershed is also to their best interest because the area is not only a source of natural resources but also serves as their home and ancestral
domain. They believed that the agroforestry system is a strategy to address their problem on low household incomes thus, they will be able to conserve and protect the watershed even as they enhance their income-generating capacity.

Source or Periodical Title

Ecosystem & Development Journal: A Journal on Tropical Forests and Natural Resources

ISSN

2012-3612

Volume

5

Issue

2

Page

3-11

Document Type

Article

Frequency

semi-annually

Physical Description

maps; figures; tables

Language

English

En – AGROVOC descriptors

WATERSHEDS; WATERSHED SERVICES; COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT; INDEGENOUS PEOPLE; PHILIPPINES

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