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Potential of Community-Based Forest Management to Mitigate Climate Change in the Philippines

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Abstract

Community-based forest management (CBFM) is the principal strategy in managing inhabited ‘forest land’ in the Philippines. It involves the participation of local communities in various forestry activities to achieve sustainable forestry, advance social justice and improve socioeconomic welfare, and promote a stable and healthy environment. This paper analyses the potential benefits of agroforestry farms in CBFM sites to mitigate climate change. The incorporation of trees in farms and landscapes has led to enhanced carbon storage and sequestration. Half a million hectares of agroforestry farms in CBFM sites in the Philippines are estimated to store 25 MtC while sequestering 2.7 MtC annually. Lessons are drawn from three carbon sequestration projects under development using CBFM as the main approach. Income from carbon credits is not sufficient to recover the cost of tree planting. The transaction costs of forestry CDM projects are substantial and could prove to be the greatest barrier to project fruition. Government institutions must find ways to encourage project developers by simplifying rules and regulations for forestry carbon projects. Forest definition must be assessed. Project developers and the government could also explore the voluntary carbon market which is more flexible than the CDM market. Policy and technical studies must be conducted to ascertain the potential of the REDD for CBFM sites in the country.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge that support provided by the Alternative to Slash and Burn (ASB) Program and the IFADS-funded Rewarding the Upland Poor for Environmental Services (RUPES) project. The views expressed in the paper are those of the authors and do no necessarily reflect the views of donors supporting ASB and RUPES.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Philippines, IRRI, 4031, Laguna, Philippines

    Rodel D. Lasco

  2. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Forest Management Bureau (FMB), Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

    Remedios S. Evangelista

  3. Forestry Development Center (FDC), College of Forestry and Natural Resources, UPLB, College, Laguna, Philippines

    Florencia B. Pulhin

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  1. Rodel D. Lasco
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  2. Remedios S. Evangelista
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  3. Florencia B. Pulhin
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Correspondence to Rodel D. Lasco.

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Lasco, R.D., Evangelista, R.S. & Pulhin, F.B. Potential of Community-Based Forest Management to Mitigate Climate Change in the Philippines. Small-scale Forestry 9, 429–443 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-010-9132-0

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