Towards sustainable forest management and poverty alleviation in the Philippines. A case study on institutional constraints and possibilities in pursuing sustainable forest management and livelihood means on Sibuyan Island, the Philippines

摘要

This thesis investigates the problems related to livelihoods and sustainable forest management onSibuyan Island, the Philippines, and seeks to address institutional constraints and possibilitiestowards sustainable forest management and associated poverty alleviation.The Philippines is recognised as one of the worlds’ hot-spots, holding a large fraction of endemicspecies while being exposed to a high level of human pressure. Despite numerous outstandingpolicies, the Philippine natural resources are continuously threatened by overexploitation.Concurrently, the country faces a high incidence of poverty, which is particularly notable in uplandareas. Thus, a challenge exists in managing the remaining natural resources simultaneously withaddressing the task of alleviating poverty.The island of Sibuyan in the Romblon Province presents the case study for this thesis, through whichwe investigate the constraints and possibilities of ensuring sustainable forest management whileaddressing poverty alleviation. Sibuyan Island hosts one of the few remaining rainforest areas in thePhilippines, home to many endemic and endangered species of flora and fauna. Simultaneously,many of the people of Sibuyan are directly dependant on the forest resources as part of theirlivelihood.The case study investigation on Sibuyan Island has in turn examined the constraints related tolivelihood means and the extent to which the livelihoods may influence the forest resources of theisland. In addition, the case study has examined the range of factors influencing the extraction offorest resource and to what extent this relates to peoples livelihoods. Furthermore, an examinationhas targeted the main institutional constraints in providing livelihood means for forest dependantpeople in order to approach sustainable forest management, and have sought to address theunderlying causes identified in this regard.Key results indicate that sustainable forest management and poverty alleviation on Sibuyan Island isa complex and challenging issue encompassing several factors that need to be considered in order toapproach sustainable forest management and poverty alleviation efforts. Access to livelihood meansis constrained by several factors, thus increasing the pressures on the forest resources and furtherexplains why people become involved in illegal logging. In addition, the demand from the externalmarket creates an extra incentive for people to earn an income from illegal logging. As such, thepressures on the forest resources are not only due to peoples’ livelihoods alone, but furtheraugmented by the demand from the external market.Investigating the diversification options of livelihood means provided by DENR and the LGUs showthat the current programmes are incapable of addressing the illegal logging and lack of livelihoodmeans. In explaining the underlying causes concerning the institutional constraints to sustainableforest management, mainly factors of politics and corruption combined with weak institutionalcapabilities are highlighted as main obstacles. These are partly explained through the inadequateinstitutional adjustments to decentralisation.Possibilities exist for institutions working towards sustainable forest management, provided thatincreased political will, cooperation and coordination is promoted among DENR, LGUs andbarangays in order to realise the provision of livelihood means and preventive methods minimisingthe demand of the external market. It is likewise crucial to consider the aspects of improved socialskills and capacity building in key institutions coupled with good governance practices to whichNGOs, considering the local context, could make important contributions and promote theadvancement of sustainable forest management and associated poverty alleviation.