Reverse of Good Practice in Forest Preservation: Household Economy of Alangan-Mangyan and Community-Based Forest Management Program in the Philippines

The Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) program in the Philippines was enacted to reduce poverty and manage natural resources by transferring the responsibility of land use to local residents, as per the slogan “putting the people first, sustainable forestry will follow.” However, today, the very concept and the effectiveness of the CBFM program are being questioned because there has been little improvement in forestry or social welfare in the upland society. The strengths and weaknesses of the idea of community-based development have been discussed previously. However, it is more critical that we understand how the local agents are adapting their lives to the changing but regulated world and the conditions that enable their survival than continue to criticize the very idea of community-based development. This study examined these issues using household economic data from the residential community of Alangan-Mangyan, comprised of indigenous people, on Mindoro Island in the Philippines. The results demonstrated that cash income in the lowlands or alternative resources gained from development aid sustain the livelihood or survival of the households, making up for forest-dependent revenue lost due to institutional regulations such as the prohibition of traditional slash-and-burn farming. In addition, a taste shift caused by change of lifestyle, as evidenced by an increase in the purchase of rice, has been observed, and the economic base is shifting from a subsistence economy to a monetary economy. These results identify the conditions that enable the survival of the indigenous residents relying on a combination of hardscrabble subsistence living and several forms of development aid.