By Lyra Mae Puno

Historically, there have been several forest management initiatives anchored on the idea of collective action. Only on July 19, 1995, did all the people-oriented forestry programs properly culminate into the Community-Based Forest Management strategy (CBFMS). This strategy was the embodiment of efforts that lead to ensuring the country’s sustainable development, which largely involved empowering the forest-dependent communities.

Decades past the paradigm shift brought about by the execution of this strategy, studies have shown that organizations that adopt this strategy have shown significant and positive impact to the forest condition as well as a general increase in community participation, more importantly, in a recent study, the CBFM strategy was proven to have slowed down the deforestation rate in the country. Stakeholders and communities were observed to have increased capacity and knowledge as an incentive for adopting the CBFM strategy, especially in terms of their innovative approaches to maintaining socio-economic stability by honing the resources available in their immediate surroundings.

From the mountains of Sierra Madre to the island of Palawan, among the crowns of their forests and the lushness of their landscapes, organically grew the livelihood initiatives of local communities for sustainable forest management. These ranged from using fruits of local fruit-bearing trees in their proximity, to unconventionally using fruits of forest climbers and lianas found only in forests.

ASSERT-CBFM as a catalyst of their movement

The livelihood initiatives were further catalyzed with the provision of funding assistance by the joint initiative of Non-Timber Forest Products – Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP), Forest Foundation of the Philippines (FFP), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the ASSERT CBFM in 2022. The primary objective of this project was to help empower the local Peoples Organizations by aiding them with their startup grant. In the second phase of the project, these POs were revisited and interviewed to assess the Most Significant Change that happened in the context of their landscapes.

In the Sierra Madre landscape, there were five CBFM Peoples Organizations (PO) whereas there were four from the Palawan landscape revisited several years after the implementation of the ASSERT CBFM project. The Phase II of the ASSERT CBFM project aimed to document the spectrum of successes and struggles that the CBFM POs faced in pursuit of sustainable forest management.

Amidst the restrictions of the pandemic, there were some POs that were affected negatively hence have encountered some major adversaries when it comes to managing their proposed livelihood project. But needless to say, despite the struggle of attaining their initial objectives of the projects they presented, they have not dissociated themselves from the collectivism that the CBFM strategy planted among them. Also because of the presence of the fund contributions from ASSERT CBFM, these have become bridge support or an element of adhesion to keep the community organization continuously engaged in CBFM. These notable organizations are the Candes II Marketing Cooperative (C2MC), Candes III Marketing Cooperative (C3MC), and Macatumbalen Community-based Forest and Coastal Management Association (MCBFCMA) from the Palawan landscape, and Three Diamond Upland Farmers and Developers Association (Three Diamond) and Sitio Parawagan Upland Farmers Association (SPUFAI). Through these storytelling, we see a reangling of how despite setbacks from reasons ranging from the slowness and tediousness of operations to security reasons, they were able to maneuver their initial proposed plan to cater other livelihood project options while remaining committed to their organizational objective of sustainable forest management.

While more than half of the POs interviewed by the NTFP-EP for the revisitation in 2024 portrayed being challenged by difficulties out of reach to their organizational framework, still a significant number showed that there were stories whose highlight. One story of success is that of the Tumauini Upland Farmers Greeners Association (TUFGA) wherein utilized the grant they received from the ASSERT CBFM Project to mobilize the communities in their vicinity to strengthen their community-centered livelihood. This had snowballed into the strengthening of social cohesion and also improvement of their productivity. Another is that of the Sagpangan Tribal Multipurpose Cooperative (Sagpangan Tribal MPC) wherein the cooperative members were able to expand their engagement from outside their concerned partners to their government agencies, NGOs, and other cooperative organizations because of the skills and knowledge that NTFP-EP has provided them in the field of project planning, financial management, and value chain development. 

Ecosystem-based Adaptation, a blueprint of moving forward

By reiterating their accounts on how they fared, how they responded, and how they prevailed over the challenges brought about by a major shock event during the years that the pandemic-linked restrictions are implemented, what can be observed is a recurring theme that the POs whose principles align with the CBFM strategy have been able to utilize the resources made available to them by the ecosystem that they dwell in. Such is the case in the organizations of the TUFGA and the Federation of Vista Hills, Kakilingan, and Kalongkong Upland Farmers Inc. (FVHKKUFI) wherein they were able to get employment and income from the rattan-based livelihood enterprise. In Three Diamond, the cacao processing activities remained successful in capacitating the members on alternative livelihoods, thereby ensuring that the people in the community are well-aware that they have the authority to report illegal activities in the CBFM area. In areas like Bacungan, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, wherein they were one of the places hit heavily by Typhoon Odette, the importance of having a sustainable resource management framework resonated greatly as this would have played a role in their adaptation strategy. In Macatumbalen, San Vicente, Palawan, the CBFM-PO leads the protection of forests and the ecosystem even outside the bounds of their jurisdiction.

What is common in these organizations, from Sierra Madre to Palawan, the ingrained values in the POs show that they recognize the importance of their environment and the goods and services they get from the ecosystem, from the soil where the trees are rooted, the climbing palms that grow to heights unreachable to man alone, the water that the clumps of vegetation conserve and are thereby used by the people living in the outskirts of the forests, to the capacitation and thus entailed by empowerment of the forest-dependent communities in terms of technical skills and knowledge. When a community is empowered, they are also well-equipped to adapt to shock events.

While the people in the forests whose lives have already been intricately woven within the fabric of the ecosystem are the primary stewards of the forests, they will most likely be the ones to be severely impacted when the forests are no longer.  Therefore, the stories of the POs who have actively combatted threats to the ecological stability of their homes, the POs whose social cohesion was tried and tested due to the tides of the pandemic, the POs who have adapted to the climate change-induced circumstances – all these documented narratives that were lifted from the actual experiences of those who partake in EbA are a testament to the fact that among forests, resilience grows.

These stories of resilience and adaptation are not isolated; they are part of a broader narrative that spans across our nation’s forests. As we look to the future, we encourage other Peoples Organizations and forest-dependent communities to share their experiences and insights on ecosystem-based adaptation. Your stories are vital in highlighting the importance of sustainable forest management and the profound impact it has on our lives and environment. The NTFP-EP remains committed to documenting these narratives, ensuring that the voices of those who live and breathe among the forests are heard, celebrated, and learned from. Together, we can continue to build a resilient and sustainable future for our forests and communities.

ASSERT-CBFM was a 32-month project funded by the Forest Foundation Philippines, aiming to enhance Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) in relation to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in the Philippines. The project focused on assessing, engaging, and building the capacity of CBFM stakeholders through collaborative learning and knowledge exchange. It also aimed to formulate and elevate policy recommendations to national mechanisms on NDCs. Implemented by NTFP-EP Asia and its partners, the project ran from 2020 to 2022. ASSERT-CBFM 2, a nine-month continuation, documented lessons from CBFM organizations that received small grants for ecosystem-based adaptation and green business initiatives, awarding a total of PhP1,850,000 to ten organizations.