Silva Fennica 37(1) research articles

Ethnicity and the Utilization of Non- Wood Forest Products: Findings from Three Philippine Villages

Celeste Lacuna-Richman

Lacuna-Richman, C. 2003. Ethnicity and the utilization of non-wood forest products: fi ndings from three Philippine villages. Silva Fennica 37(1): 129–148.

The utilization and trade of non-wood forest products in three villages in the were compared in this study. Two villages were situated close to each other on the Island of Palawan. The Tagbanua, an indigenous people, inhabited one village; migrants from the Visayas Region of the Philippines populated the other. The third village is located on the Island of Leyte, in the Visayas Region, populated by native Visayan settlers. There was no signifi cant difference in the number of NWFPs utilized by the indigenous people and the migrants. However, there was a wide disparity in income between the two groups, with migrants earning more, partly due to the marketing of commercial NWFPs. This gap could be decreased by fairer trading practices that are dependent in part on better educational opportunities, land rights, legal assistance and access to markets for the Tag- banua. Specifi c socioeconomic characteristics, such as the presence of a hunter within the household and size of the family were found to have a positive correlation with the use of NWFPs in some study villages. Income and the food expenditure of the household were inversely related with the use of NWFPs in the native Visayan village.

Keywords non-wood forest products (NWFPs), indigenous people, migrants, subsistence, market, Philippines Author’s address Faculty of Forestry, University of Joensuu, P.O. Box 111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail [email protected].fi Received 9 April 2002 Accepted 18 December 2002

129 Silva Fennica 37(1) research articles

1 Introduction resources, since the economic system absorbs most of the functions that the ecological system 1.1 Indigenous People and Migrants has had previously for more subsistence-based societies. These functions include providing food, This study examines the relationship between shelter, medicine, and other necessities without non-wood (NWFP) use and the the need for direct extraction or production of indigenous or migrant status of the users. In the desired goods. However, the negative effect the continuing discourse on political, economic, of this lack of friction is an economic develop- and social class, ethnicity is often included as ment that cannot possibly be sustained unless the an explanatory variable. This is particularly closer interactions between the economy and the true in some countries in Africa and the Asia- spatial and temporal limits of the ecosystem are Pacifi c region, where many indigenous groups restored. are still defi ning their standing within a political In the Philippines, most of the remaining for- and economic environment and where they are ests are located in the uplands and mountainous often a less powerful subclass in the hegemony areas. These areas are among the last bastions of (Howard 1989). Although the discussion on indigenous people, of which the Philippines has ethnicity frequently revolves around the legal approximately 127 groups (ESSC 1998). ‘Indig- rights of indigenous people and their disentitled enous’ and ‘ethnic’ within the Philippine context status in the larger economy (La Vina 1994), require some clarifi cation, because ethnic status there seems to be a tacit assumption that despite is not so much based on racial background, as it is their disadvantages, at some level, the needs of on the position of the group in a broader historical indigenous people are being met. This idea may context. Jocano (1998) suggests that it is based be based mostly on two observations. The fi rst on shared cultural similarities, and the level of is their continued existence as a distinct group integration into the larger society. Historically, within the larger population, which is not pos- the indigenous groups in the Philippines were sible if they are not able to sustain their way of of the same Malay-Polynesian background as life. The second is the environments in which people of the dominant lowland culture, but had indigenous groups usually live, which are often not been colonized by either the Spanish in the the least developed and accessible areas, likely 1500s or by the Americans at the turn of the last the last pieces of wilderness left. It is normally century. The confl icts and compromises related assumed that there is less competition for land to the use of natural resources are particularly and other natural resources in these areas from critical in the Philippines, because of the rapid the non-indigenous population. population increase, and heavy in-migration to The reality is much more complicated. As the uplands (World Resources Institute 1992). Devalle (1989) suggests, even the scientifi c study In many cases, the immigrants have very limited (of tribes) has succumbed to stereotype, denot- options not only in their original locale because ing aspects such as culture or various modes of of scarce agricultural land (Findley and De Jong production as part of a (human) . The 1985), but also lack education and skills for result of categorization according to ethnic types employment in urban settings (Suzuki 1996, belies the realities that indigenous people deal Veloro 1996, Homer-Dixon, as cited in Huby with as part of the historical process. Some of 1998). Migrant encroachment on livelihood these realities include an increased dependence activities of the already severely disadvantaged on trade with the non-indigenous population indigenous people, such as NWFP extraction, rather than maintaining an essentially subsist- often occurs. Analyses of the factors affecting ence livelihood, and greater competition for the use of limited resources are needed to dispel forest resources with migrants into their area. erroneous beliefs of either sustainable or baneful Mark (1999) describes some of the historical user groups, especially if national policies are to effects of greater integration into the monetary some extent based on what may be stereotypes. economy. He proposes that the effects include less friction between common users of natural

130 Lacuna-Richman Ethnicity and the Utilization of Non-Wood Forest Products: Findings from Three Philippine Villages

1.2 Non-Wood Forest Products (FAO 2000; Gatmaytan 1997). However, there is evidence that even subsistence use of NWFPs Documentation of the importance of non-wood by indigenous people can lead to depletion unless forest products to the subsistence of forest dwellers there are also low population densities and secure (e. g. Appasamy 1993, Jensen and Balslev 1995) property rights for the extractors (Godoy et al and for rural income generation (e. g. Gunatilake 1993). Otherwise, confl ict between two or more et al 1993, LaFrankie 1994) in tropical countries groups dependent on the same dwindling natural is increasing. Studies regarding the different uses resource is often inevitable. Much of the confl ict of various and animal forest to local is based on inequality in the ability and desire to populations, and valuation of NWFP potential per exploit the natural resources, another part of the hectare of forest, have also contributed greatly to problem is that of inequity in the distribution of the understanding of NWFPs role in economies benefi ts from such utilization (Huby 1998). Often and for forest conservation (Chopra 1993, Hall however, there are tenuous, informal but very and Bawa 1993). Godoy et al (1995) have done strict arrangements between the groups making an analysis of the effects of income levels on the use of the same resource (Aagesen 1998). Both kinds and quantities of non-wood forest product cooperation and competition for NWFP extraction extraction by various forest communities. They exists between indigenous people and migrants have concluded that although higher income can on the Island of Palawan, where the main part of be associated with a decline in the importance this study was conducted. of NWFPs within the household economy, it does not necessarily encourage specialization in the products foraged, nor does it necessarily 1.3 Objectives of the Study lessen the gross economic value of the NWFPs harvested. Wickramasinghe et al (1996) identi- The main objectives of this paper are fi rst, to fi ed some variables related to NWFP collection. describe as accurately as possible the local use Their primary fi ndings were that due partly to the of an important forest resource, in this case the labour availability in a household, family size was NWFP called bagtik or almaciga . This directly positively related to whether households NWFP is an exudate from the almaciga tree [Aga- collected commercial NWFPs or not, and that the this dammara (Lamb.) L. C., or Agathis philip- size of the agricultural land of a household, was pinensis Warb.] which is used for the manufacture inversely related to the quantities of NWFPs of , paints and other industrial chemicals. collected. Yet, there are still many unanswered The second objective is to analyze the role of questions concerning the social and economic ethnicity in the management of forest resources, factors that affect the kind and level of NWFP which in the Philippines is one of the main criteria extraction. Some of these socioeconomic factors for certain types of forest stewardship arrange- include the indigenous status of the collectors. ments with the government. The last objective is This may affect aspects of NWFP extraction in to fi nd specifi c socioeconomic characteristics of various ways, such as familiarity with local plant NWFP users that correlate with their knowledge and animal species, and whether the quantities and use of NWFPs. harvested are mostly for subsistence use, for To accomplish these objectives, this paper market, or have reached the level that suggests is divided into two parts. The fi rst part of this a need for domestication (Dove 1997; Pinheiro paper describes the almaciga resin collection and 1997). marketing practices of two villages in Palawan The status of non-wood forest products in which were highly dependent on this NWFP for the Philippines refl ects current ideas about the a cash income. The second part of this paper is a use of natural resources in other parts of the description of the non-wood forest products used world. One of the most prevalent of these ideas for subsistence in these two Palawan villages, and is the sustainability of NWFP use by indigenous a third village called Cienda located on the Island people, especially in comparison with the use of of Leyte, and whether ethnicity had some associa- the same resources by non-indigenous groups tion with the knowledge of NWFPs.

131 Silva Fennica 37(1) research articles

2 Study Area land forests and coastal areas of Palawan. How- ever, the encroachment by migrants has pushed The settings for this study are villages within them into the interior forested areas, increasingly the provinces of Palawan and Leyte, two of the farther from the provincial economic center and larger islands in the Philippines with still size- capital, Puerto Princesa, and their traditional able-forested areas. These villages were selected ancestral base in what is now known as Aborlan partly because of their proximity to forest and Town. Traditionally, the Tagbanua have multiple the ethnic composition of their populations. The sources of livelihood, comprised of slash-and- study required that two forest-edge villages in burn agriculture, collection of non-wood forest Palawan, one populated mostly with indigenous products both for subsistence and for trade, hunt- people, the other mostly with migrants from the ing, and fi shing. Later in the century however, the Visayas Region of the Philippines, be selected. A Tagbanua who had moved further south towards third village, in a forest within the Visayas Region, the eastern face of Palawan’s central mountain is included for comparison as a community with range, had shifted to more permanent agriculture. native Visayan inhabitants. The provinces of As well, the collection of NWFPs had concen- Palawan and Leyte were also chosen for specifi c trated on the commercially valuable bagtik or reasons. Palawan is considered the ‘Last Frontier’ almaciga resin and (Calamus sp.) (Fox in the Philippines due partly to the possibilities of 1982, Conelly 1996). settlement and agricultural expansion which is no The dominant group of migrants on formerly longer the case in more densely populated islands. Tagbanua territory in Southern Palawan is from It has a land area of almost 1.5 million hectares, the Philippines’ Visayas Group of Islands. These two-thirds of which is still classifi ed as forest islands comprise the provinces of Leyte, Samar, by the Department of Environment and Natural Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, Negros, and Cebu. Stud- Resources (DENR 1999). Leyte, on the other ies of the Visayans and their culture inevitably hand, has a land area of 800, 306 hectares, only include the phenomenon of within-country migra- a fourth of which is classifi ed as forest (DENR tion, sometimes to urban areas but more often to 1999). It is one of the few islands in the Visayas frontier settlements where acquisition of farmland with forest remaining. is the primary incentive (Hoffman 1982, Suzuki Due to its location on the Sunda Shelf, the fl ora 1996, Veloro 1996). In Palawan, the migrant and fauna of Palawan Island are considered to settlers have successfully transformed forest be more similar to those found on the Island of into farmland for their livelihood, in some cases Borneo to its west than in the rest of the Philip- encroaching on the traditional settlements of the pines to its east. In addition, the isolation of Pala- indigenous tribes. They have also become com- wan from Borneo by any land connections for the petitors with the indigenous people in the extrac- past 600 000 years has given rise to a high level tion of non-wood forest products, especially those of endemic species (1 in 10) of vertebrate animals with commercial value. In most of the remaining and fl owering . However, the heavy immi- forests of the Visayas, the extraction of specifi c gration of people from other parts of the Philip- NWFPs is severely prohibited (DENR 1999) pines, has resulted in a widespread transformation and has been for at least a decade. Siebert and of the forests into agricultural land (Göltenboth et Belsky (1985) have described the depletion of a al.1998). This change in land use combined with commercially important NWFP, rattan (Calamus more intensive use of both timber and NWFPs sp.) and its effects on the livelihood of villagers has affected not only the unique biodiversity in Leyte, in the 1980s. of Palawan, but also possibilities for continued The villages of Boong and Manaile in the Prov- extraction of forest resources. ince of Palawan, and Cienda in the Province of The Tagbanua are one of seven indigenous Leyte, share one important feature, for which groups identifi ed on the main Island of Palawan they had been chosen for this study. All three Province, living mostly in the central and south- villages are located at the forest edge. The vil- ern parts of the island (ESSC 1998). As recently lages were also chosen for the ethnic composition as the 1950s, the Tagbanua lived both in the low- of their populations. The Tagbanua, who are an

132 Lacuna-Richman Ethnicity and the Utilization of Non-Wood Forest Products: Findings from Three Philippine Villages

indigenous group of Palawan, populate the vil- the Village of Manaile. There was also a small lage of Boong. The nearby village of Manaile is one-room schoolhouse in Boong, although one a settlement of migrant families, mostly from the teacher for all the levels could not possibly give Visayas provinces. Cienda is a village in Leyte, all the children of the village enough attention. one of the Visayas islands, one of the few which During more friendly encounters between the still have some forest cover. tribal leader of the indigenous community and The study villages’ location in forest areas was villagers from the migrant community, the road determined by examining maps of Palawan and and the schoolhouse were considered products of Leyte. Based on previous information about the cooperation between the two villages. On visits tendency of forest settlers to live among people when there were bad dealings between people of the same ethnic group, population statistics of from either village for whatever reason, charges forested municipalities were requested from the of misplaced trust were mostly blamed on the provincial offi ces of the Department of Envi- ethnicity of the other party. ronment and Natural Resources (DENR). The ethnic compositions of the villages were initially determined from the municipal statistics of the Aborlan and Narra Municipalities in Palawan, 3 Methods and Baybay municipality in Leyte. A shortlist of possible study villages in the above municipalities 3.1 Methods of Data Collection was drawn up. Initial interviews with community organizers and the respective village headmen The data for this study were collected through were done to determine whether the prospective face-to-face interviews using the local dialect study villages were suffi ciently dependent on with the help of interpreters or directly in NWFP collection to be chosen as the study sites. Filipino (Tagalog), the national language, as the From these, the following villages were chosen respondents preferred. As an aide to the inter- to represent the communities: view process, semi-structured and open-ended – Boong – indigenous community (Tagbanua ethnic questionnaires were used. There were also fi eld group) visits to the NWFPs collection areas, and par- – Manaile – migrant community (Visayan ethnic ticipant observation. The interviews and forest group) visits were conducted during approximately – Cienda – non-migrant Visayan community two-month stays in the vicinity of each of the study villages during 1998, and again for the In Palawan, the dependence of the indigenous second phase of data collection, in 1999. There community on the migrant community for help was an attempt to interview all the heads of the in dealing with the non-indigenous world occa- households in the three study villages. However, sionally resulted in confl ict between the two it was only in Boong where a complete sample groups, although more often there was a quiet from the whole population of fi fty households wariness on both sides. Both villages depended was accomplished. Due to refusals, in Man- on the other to some extent – the Tagbanua had aile, only forty-four individuals who were the helped the earlier migrants learn which of the acknowledged heads of their households were numerous forest species could be useful for food interviewed, which comprised fi fty-six percent and medicine. These were skills that were espe- of all the households. In Cienda, representatives cially useful during the establishment of Manaile, of forty-one of the sixty households (68%) were especially before the new settlers’ fi rst harvests. interviewed. The majority of refusals were due In exchange, the presence of the migrants and to reportedly unpleasant dealings with outsiders their intervention with provincial administrative experienced by some of the villagers and the fear authorities had accelerated development in the of giving information about sources of livelihood. area. Boong gained an unpaved road leading to Doubtless, the refusals may have had effects on it, although there was still no bridge across the the results. For example, it is probable that the section of the Manaile River separating it from data on animals hunted could have been greatly

133 Silva Fennica 37(1) research articles augmented by information from more intensive some order for the presentation of the data. These hunters who refused to be interviewed. However, categories also proved useful in serving as cues the researcher decided that a ‘forced’ interview when asking the respondents about the benefi ts would have likely lead to more erroneous infor- they got from the forest aside from wood. How- mation than one given willingly. ever, these categories are by no means mutually Interviews with key informants, and participant exclusive. The food and medicinal properties of observation, which involved visits to collection some plants are considered equally important and sites and use of some NWFPs by the researcher, indeed inseparable, and often a single plant has were also done to support or clarify informa- several uses depending on the plant part discussed. tion supplied by the villagers. Some of these As well, for some NWFPs the line separating a key informant interviews were conducted with product used at the subsistence level, from a com- people who do not reside within the study vil- mercial product is becoming obscure. lages, but lived in the surrounding communities. For the second round of interviews, a checklist These informants were experts in their own right of all the plants mentioned in the fi rst interviews (e.g., hunters who no longer go to the forest due was circulated among the original set of respond- to old age provided information on the availability ents. The respondents were asked if they knew of through the years; dealers in NWFPs). In the forest products on the checklist, if they used many cases during interviews, the other members any of those products, and how often they used of the households included in the sample were the products. The checklist was completed fi rst present to give their own observations. These to ensure that the answers given during the fi rst comments were also recorded and verifi ed with round of interviews were accurate. It was also other sources. used to determine if the respondents left out the During two rounds of interviews, respondents names of some NWFPs in their answers during were asked about the non-wood forest products the initial interviews, perhaps due to absence of they knew about and used. The fi rst round of a memory-aid. Assistance with the checklist was interviews was done to assess which NWFPs the provided to residents who could not read. villagers were familiar with, whether they used these forest products, and the quantities of those products used. The second round of interviews 3. 2 Statistical Analysis was based on the answers given during the initial interviews. The second round of interviews were Descriptive statistics were used to determine the conducted both to confi rm or correct the answers socioeconomic characteristics of the respond- given during the initial interviews, and also to ents in the three villages. Figures given by the gather additional information. respondents, such as prices of commercial non- The fi rst interview schedule included questions wood forest products and terms of exchange for on the respondents’ socioeconomic situation, and bartered goods, were checked with other sources questions on various categories of NWFPs such both within and outside of the study villages. as edible plants, game, , building materi- This was done to give a clearer picture of the als, medicinal plants, and commercial NWFPs types of communities that frequently settle near such as rattan, orchids, and other ornamentals. the remaining forest areas of the Philippines, and The respondents were asked what their main and who likely have the greatest impact on NWFP secondary sources of income were. The main extraction among the rural population. The case of source of income is defi ned in this study and almaciga (Agathis philippinensis Warb.) resin col- was explained to the respondents as the work that lection in Palawan was given additional emphasis, provided their household with the most income because it illustrates the economic, and to some in money and goods. The secondary source of extent political implications of the NWFP trade. income is defi ned as coming from work that Statistical tests involving correlation coeffi - augmented the former. cients and regression were performed to test any Like the concept of ‘household’, the categories associations between specifi c socioeconomic of NWFPs studied were also useful in providing characteristics of the respondents and their

134 Lacuna-Richman Ethnicity and the Utilization of Non-Wood Forest Products: Findings from Three Philippine Villages

knowledge and use of non-wood forest products. tions in the study. The Alternative Hypothesis for Characteristics of the respondents were used as the Boong-Manaile z-test is that the number of independent variables. Among these factors, NWFP species collected by indigenous people is which are measurable in an interval scale, were signifi cantly greater than the number of NWFPs age; the number of years of formal schooling collected by the migrants. representing ‘Education’; Income; the number In reporting income and other monetary values, of household members dependent on a shared the 1998 average exchange rate of forty Philip- income (Size of family); food expenses of the pine Pesos to one U.S. dollar was used. household; and hectares of land owned or had rights to. F-distribution tests were completed on the nominal factors of respondents’ gender, and whether members of the household hunt or not, to 4 Results determine associations with these factors and the number of NWFPs correctly identifi ed. Statistical 4.1 Descriptive signifi cance for correlation analysis was set at the 0.05 level of signifi cance. 4.1.1 Socioeconomic Characteristics of the One of the main purposes of the study was to Respondents determine whether there was a signifi cant differ- ence in the number of NWFP species collected by The results of the initial interviews showed that indigenous people, and migrants. For this reason, the residents all had a feature in common due to a z-test was performed between the means of the their proximities to the forest. The inhabitants of number of NWFPs collected in each of the three all three villages were to some degree, depend- study villages. The two-sample z-test for means ent on the forest as an important source of both with known variances was used to test differences subsistence and commercial goods. The villages in population means. Boong, with its primarily varied in terms of dependence on forest-based Tagbanua population, was compared with Man- activities as the main income source, and the aile, with its migrant population from the Visayas. secondary income source. Cienda, with an ‘indigenous Visayan’ population In Boong, 64 percent of all the households was compared with Manaile, whose population depended on non-wood forest product (NWFP) was composed of the ethnic Visayan, who had set- extraction, specifi cally almaciga resin and rattan, tled elsewhere than their home province. Finally, for their main source of income. In addition, 41 Cienda and Boong were compared as two villages percent considered NWFP collection as their with indigenous populations, although it could second most important income source. In Man- be argued that the Tagbanua may have possibly aile, agriculture was the most common income lived in Palawan for a few centuries more than source, but 21 percent considered gathering the people of Cienda have lived in Leyte. The almaciga resin as their major source of income results of two separate sets of z-tests are presented and another sixteen percent considered it their in Table 3, and Tables 4a and 4b. For the z-tests second most important source of income next to presented in Table 3, the means of the number agriculture. of plants collected by the households mentioned In Cienda, the rattan trade had stopped due to during the initial interviews were used. For the a depletion of natural supplies, and the gather- z-tests in Table 4a, the means of the number of ing of honey was an income-generating activity plants mentioned during the second phase of for only a few individual experts. However, interviews, with the help of a checklist compiled one of the most common crops after rice and from answers during the initial interviews, were was a fi ber crop, abaca (Musa textilis used. Hypothesis testing on the results of both L.), which was grown in slash-and-burn plots the initial interviews and the second phase of called kaingin within the forest. Abaca is still interviews were done to check or reinforce the classifi ed as a non-wood forest product by the results. The Null Hypothesis is that there is no Philippines’ Department of Environment and difference between any two of the three popula- Natural Resources (DENR 1999). However,

135 Silva Fennica 37(1) research articles

Table 1. Socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents in Manaile, Palawan; Boong, Palawan; and Cienda, Leyte.

Socioeconomic indicator Village Boong Manaile Cienda Mean Standard Mean Standard Mean Standard deviation deviation deviation

Age 38.5 13.9 38.0 12.8 43.5 15.5 Years of formal schooling 2.9 2.3 6.9 3.8 5.5 3.3 Number of children 3.1 2.2 3.8 2.5 4.2 2.5 Annual income (in Philippine pesos) 16502 10579 29513 33474 23358 15005 Landholdings (in hectares) 1.1 1.4 0.9 1.2 1.0 1.1

most of the abaca in Cienda had been planted. 4.1.2 Non-Wood Forest Products Identifi ed The maintenance and harvest of abaca plots had by the Respondents in the Three Study made the opportunistic collection of NWFPs for Villages food, medicine, and house building materials almost habitual among the villagers of Cienda. The households of the three villages under study Forty-two percent (42%) of Cienda villagers con- identifi ed some non-wood forest products that sidered edible forest plants absolutely necessary were specifi c only to their area. However, many additions to their food supply. Likewise, although common NWFPs among all three villages, and only seven percent of Manaile households were especially between the Palawan villages of Boong highly dependent on forest food for subsistence, and Manaile, were found. It is interesting to note 34 percent considered edible NWFPs welcome that most of the NWFPs common to all three additions to their diet. In Boong, 70 percent of the villages are also largely commercial products, households depended on hunting for their protein, although there was also much use of these plants and as many considered forest plants a necessary for subsistence purposes. The lists of non-wood part of their food supply. forest products are presented in Tables 2a and In terms of other socioeconomic characteris- 2b. tics, the Visayan households of Manaile, Palawan Most of the plants identifi ed as useful forest and Cienda, Leyte, had more in common than the products in the three villages served multiple Tagbanua households of Boong, Palawan. The purposes. During the interviews, questions cat- number of dependent children in the family, the egorizing use for these plants were asked, such as years of formal schooling of the head of house- which plants were used for food, medicine, handi- hold, and the average annual income of the crafts, or building materials. All respondents gave household were more similar between Manaile several uses for most plants mentioned, mostly and Cienda, than between Boong and Manaile, depending on the part of the plant concerned. which are situated only seven kilometers from In some cases, such as that between edible and each other (Table 1). Noteworthy was the huge medicinal plants, the categories were not distinct. disparity in mean numbers of years in formal It should be noted that the Tagbanua of Boong schooling and income between Boong and Man- were not forthcoming about their use of medici- aile, as the Tagbanua households had less than nal plants, which probably has greatly affected half the average years of formal schooling and the results of the hypothesis tests done for this a little more than half the average income of the study regarding the number of species identifi ed Visayan households of Manaile. The average age as useful in the three villages. of the head of household in Boong and in Man- This lack of openness may be ascribed to two aile, were however closer than the average age of sources. The fi rst was the fear of ‘biopiracy’ the head of household in Cienda. which a local non-government organization had

136 Lacuna-Richman Ethnicity and the Utilization of Non-Wood Forest Products: Findings from Three Philippine Villages

Table 2a. Non-wood forest products commonly used by households in Boong, Palawan; Manaile, Palawan; and Cienda, Leyte.

Scientifi c name / family Tagbanua Common Common common name name in name in Manaile in Cienda (Visayan) (Visayan)

Agathis philippinensis Warb. / ARAUCARIACEAE bagtik almaciga n.m. a) Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Sprengel / AMARYLLIDACEAE ganda n.m. n.m. Antidesma bunius (L.) Sprengel / STILAGINACEAE n.m. bignay n.m. *Aphanante negronensis urang n.m. n.m. Ardisia squamulosa auct. non Presl. / MYRSINACEAE b) tagpo n.m. n.m. Arenga ambong Becc. or Arenga undulatifolia Becc. / ARECAEAE batbat batbat batbat Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg kamansi n.m. n.m. or Artocarpus camansi Blanco / MORACEAE Artocarpus blancoi (Elm.) Merr. / MORACEAE antipolo n.m. n.m. Artocarpus heterophyllus Lamk. / MORACEAE langka nangka nangka Arytera littoralis Blume / SAPINDACEAE alasan n.m. n.m. Athyrium esculentum Copeland / DRYOPTERIDACEAE n.m. pako pako Averrhoa bilimbi L. / OXALIDACEAE n.m. kamias n.m. Azadirachta excelsa Jack / MELIACEAE b) maranggo n.m. n.m. *Bambusa sp. / POACEAE kawayan kawayan kawayan Bixa orellana Linn. / BIXACEAE n.m. n.m. suete Caesaria paucinervia Merr. / MYRSINACEAE uyong-uyong luyong-luyong n.m. Cajanus indicus Sprengel / FABACEAE kadyos kadyos tadyos Calamus merrillii Becc. / PALMAE palasan n.m. n.m. Calamus ornatus Blume / PALMAE rimoran/limuran alimuran n.m. *Calamus sp. / PALMAE yantok yantok/ yantok/ rattan rattan Callicarpa erioclona Schauer / VERBENACEAE palis n.m. n.m. Canarium asperum Benth. / BURSERACEAE n.m. sahing n.m. *Cardia dichotoma n.m. anonang n.m. Caryota cumingii Lodd. / PALMACEAE anibong anibong pugahan *Celosia argentea tagogtog/tagughug n.m. n.m. Chrysophyllum caimito Linn. / SAPOTACEAE n.m. n.m. caimito Cocculus cordifolius / MENISPERMACEAE n.m. makabuhay n.m. Cochinchinensis (Pierre) Nakai (Cel.) alumangug n.m. n.m. Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott / ARACEAE gabi gabi gabi L. / CYCADACEAE n.m. petogo n.m. Cynometra densifl ora Elmer / CAESALPINACEAE pali n.m. n.m. (wild mampalang) Cynometra ramifl ora L. / CAESALPINACEAE tambilikan n.m. n.m. *Dimonorops curranii n.m. pitpit n.m. Dioscorea alata L. / DIOSCOREACEAE ubi n.m. n.m. Dioscorea hispida Dennst. / DIOSCOREACEAE n.m. kayos kuyot/kot Dracontomelon dao (Blanco) Merr & Rolfe / dao n.m. n.m. ANACARDIACEAE Dracontomelum edule (Blanco) Skeels n.m. alauihau/ halowihaw n.m. *Drypetes litoralis b) bato-bato n.m. n.m. Murray / BOMBACACEAE n.m. wild n.m. Elipanthos tomentosus Kurz. or *Eunymus vibumifolius alumanggi/ alumangoi/ alumangug n.m. n.m. *Emilia marivelensis n.m. libhon/libun n.m. *Eugenia cymosa / MYRTACEAE n.m. labak n.m. benthami Pierre or (Roxb.)Kurz. / bunog bunog n.m. GUTTIFERAE Garcinia binucao (Blanco) Choisy or Garcinia laterifl ora Blume / kandis kandis n.m. GUTTIFERAE Gnetum gnemon L. Var. gnemon / GNETACEAE bago bago bago Guioa acuminata Radlk. / SAPINDACEAE pasi pasi n.m.

137 Silva Fennica 37(1) research articles

Table 2a continued.

Scientifi c name/family Tagbanua Common Common common name name in name in Manaile in Cienda (Visayan) (Visayan)

*Horsfi eldia acuminata b) anoniog n.m. n.m. *Intsia bijuga / LEGUMINOSAE b) ipil n.m. n.m. Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lamk. / CONVOLVULACEAE lidib kamoteng bagin n.m. Ipomoea reptans Poir. / CONVOLVULACEAE n.m. n.m. tangkung/ kangkong Kopsia fructicosa (Ker.) A. DC. / APOCYNACEAE b) lipata n.m. n.m. *Lentinus sp. kulat-kulat kulat n.m. Litsea perrottetii (Blume) F. – Vill (Laur.) marang marang n.m. or Artocarpus odoratissimus Blanco / MORACEAE Mallotus auriculatus Merr. n.m. kamanian n.m. *Mallotus pseudopenangenensis n.m. beri/beli n.m. Mallotus tiliifolius (Blume) Müll. Arg. / EUPHORBIACEAE b) alai n.m. n.m. Mangifera altissima Blanco / ANACARDIACEAE pao pao n.m. Mangifera fragrans Maingay ex Hook.f. mampalang mampalang n.m. or Mangifera macrocarpa Blume / ANACARDIACEAE Mangifera indica L. / ANACARDIACEAE n.m. mangga n.m. Mangifera odorata Griffi th / ANACARDIACEAE huani wani n.m. Mangifera philippinensis Mukh. / ANACARDIACEAE paho n.m. n.m. Manihot esculenta Crantz / EUPHORBIACEAE lideb kayo n.m. n.m. *Melodinus luzonensis tabo tabo n.m. Mentha cordifolia Opiz. / LAMIACEAE n.m. herba buena n.m. Moringa oleifera Lamarck / MORINGACEAE n.m. n.m. kamunggay Musa L. / MUSACEAE saging saging saging Muntingia calabura L. / TILLIACEAE n.m. seresas n.m. Nephelium lappaceum L. / SAPINDACEAE rambutan manti rambutan Nypa fruticans Wurmb. / PALMAE nipa nipa nipa Oncosperma tigillaria Ridl. anibong anibong n.m. Orania decipiens Becc. / ARECACEAE n.m. banga n.m. Persea americana Miller / LAURACEAE n.m. n.m. abukado *Phyllochlamys taxoides b) lampataki n.m. n.m. Pometia pinnata Forst. / SAPINDACEAE malugay n.m. n.m. Pouteria campechiana (Kunth) Baehni / SAPOTACEAE n.m. tisa n.m. Psidium guajava L. / MYRTACEAE n.m. n.m. bayabas/ guyabas *Pygeum euphlebium kabong () n.m. n.m. *Radermachera palawanensis b) Palawan agtap n.m. n.m. Schizostachyum lumampao (Blanco) Merrill / buho n.m. n.m. POACEAE (GRAMINAE) Semecarpus longifolius Blume n.m. anagas n.m. or Semecarpus gigantifolia Vidal / ANACARDIACEAE Sindora inermis Merr. / LEGUMINOSAE nito nito n.m. Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels / MYRTACEAE n.m. duhat n.m. Syzygium ecostulatum (C. B. Robinson) Merr. / MYRTACEAE lamuto n.m. n.m. *Tricalysia reticulata kalamanti /kalamanis n.m. n.m. *Tuba fl ava n.m. albatra/albutra n.m. Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott. / ARACEAE n.m. n.m. pakodo

* All those with asterisks do not have the authorities’ names a) n.m. – means “not mentioned” in either the fi rst or second interview, by respondents in the specifi c village. Many times this may mean that the species is not used at all, but at other times it may simply mean that the species was not mentioned because it was not used very often, or was not considered a NWFP by the respondents. b) Other Tagbanua NWFPs (not mentioned by respondents in initial interviews)

138 Lacuna-Richman Ethnicity and the Utilization of Non-Wood Forest Products: Findings from Three Philippine Villages

Table 2b. List of Non-wood forest products commonly warned them against, and which had become, in used by households in Boong, Palawan; Manaile, the Tagbanua view, a real danger in dealing with Palawan; and Cienda, Leyte, scientifi c name non-indigenous people. The second was the close undetermined. connection between medicinal plants and tradi- tional rites for healing. Although a large percent- Village/Community NWFP (Local name) age of Boong Tagbanua (58%) still claimed to be Indigenous village / balisangkad heavy users of medicinal plants, they are mostly Boong orchids/dapo Christianized and had also stopped practicing Palawan gabi traditional rites over at least one generation. alalanday ali-alima aridit barukan 4.1.3 Commercial NWFPs in Boong and inlalay Manaile, Palawan kalamanti/kalamanis kaligsuysuy ‘Bagtik’, or resin from the almaciga tree (Agathis kuriras philippinensis Warb.) is one of the largest NWFP lambunson exports of the Philippines, earning the country mangoro 254 000 US dollars in 1998 (Department of sambiko sambong/kalibubon the Environment and Natural Resources 1999). Almaciga resin and ‘yantok’ or rattan (Calamus Migrant village / anheliko sp.) have also traditionally been the most signifi - Manaile balisangkad cant commercial non-timber forest products to the kulumbi Tagbanua, and now to the majority of households laba in Manaile as well. Several other NWFPs such as lampanaya lipso wild honey, animals, and orchids were considered orchid commercially viable, but the collection of these pakpak lawin was much less seasonal than almaciga resin and pal rattan. Thus the element of opportunism in col- Palawan durian lecting these products was greater than the care- Palawan gabi fully planned bagtik and rattan gathering trips. sangi There were many anecdotes told by the santol-santol -ang migrant villagers during the interviews, on how tagumo much more adept the Tagbanua collectors were tapikan (bamboo) in extracting bagtik from the tree, and how the tuge Tagbanua carry as much as 60 kg of the resin wild gabi from the forest to the village in one trip. However, individual interviews of both migrant and Tag- Non-migrant settlement / atay-atay banua collectors revealed that most got as much Cienda gabon hayom-hayom resin as they could carry, and the Tagbanua, like kadlom the migrants brought down about 35 to 50 kg of kaningag resin per trip. Each almaciga collector had the kinabugahay right to extract from, or had ‘tenure to’ about 30 kojaji () trees. Collectors of the resin went to the forest one labkos/libgos/libkos to fi ve times a month, and often stayed there for orchids pichay-pichay three to four days. Daily visits to the forest were tago-sabaw (mushroom) now less common than in the early 1990s, when tangog-tangog (mushroom) more resin could be gathered in almaciga stands tuba-tuba closer to the village, enough to warrant daily wild visits. During the years of the interviews, most collectors said they got about two to fi ve sacks

139 Silva Fennica 37(1) research articles of almaciga resin a month, or approximately 70 collectors. Similar numbers of kapatas and col- to 150 kg a month. lectors worked for the concession owner of the Prior to 1988, holders of concessions to the Aborlan and Narra municipalities. forest area where the Tagbanua were settled con- In Boong, all the almaciga gatherers had the trolled the collection of rattan. Tagbanua control same middleman, who was a Tagbanua. The col- of the forest land on which almaciga and other lectors from Manaile, worked for another mid- NWFPs were collected, was dependent on their dleman, who like them, was a migrant from the getting a Certifi cate of Ancestral Domain Title Visayas. Both the Tagbanua and the migrant mid- (CADT), a legal document which grants them dleman answered to the same concession owner, ownership of traditional lands. The Tagbanua of who lived in the Provincial Capital of Palawan, Boong applied for the CADT in the early 1980s Puerto Princesa. through application for another legal document, From the migrants’ reports, the ‘forest-gate’ the Certifi cate of Ancestral Domain Claim price of almaciga during the most recent conces- (CADC), which had been the preceding govern- sion was six Pesos a kilo. Various respondents ment policy instrument to provide similar rights. gave different quotes on how much the kapatas or In 1999 and until the CADT is strictly enforced, middleman’s profi t was, these quotes ranged from control over the collection of non-wood forest one to three Pesos per kilo. As can be expected, products were granted by the Department of Envi- most almaciga gatherers complained of the low ronment and Natural Resources (DENR) since the compensation they got for diffi cult, discouraging, 1940s in the form of concessions, mostly to early and often dangerous work. However, they were migrant settlers within Palawan. Concessions also quite resigned about it. Gatherers who were ranged from about a thousand to tens of thou- also middlemen considered their share of the prof- sands of hectares, and were frequently passed on its to be justifi ed because of the problems that from one generation to the next within the same they endured in organizing the many collectors family, subject to license renewal. The renewal of of a dwindling resource. There were numerous a concession holder’s license depended offi cially stories of sacks of resin that had more than the on the monitoring of the area by DENR personnel. acceptable level of impurities, such as soil and As there were manpower constraints within the tree bark, being turned in. Another frequently DENR, license renewal sometimes took a few mentioned dilemma of middlemen and organizers months. The delays for license renewals was of collection teams was that of ensuring a func- also due to the diffi culty and cost of going to the tional tree tenure system among the gatherers, the provincial capital to follow-up and facilitate the lack of or disregard for which often resulted in process. confl ict. Because all of the kapatas interviewed The concession owner usually lived elsewhere lived within the same village as the collectors, than in the collection area, and hired a middle- there was frequent and prolonged social contact man, called the ‘kapatas’ to oversee the collection between them and the collectors. Thus, the small of almaciga resin for a specifi c area. The middle- compensation for the resin was often blamed on man was entrusted with money and goods such as the absentee concession owner. During the latter rice and cigarettes, which were given to gatherers months in 1998, the price per kilo of almaciga as an ‘advance payment,’ and often consumed resin in the Provincial Capital of Puerto Princesa during collection trips. The cost of these goods was 11 to 12 Pesos per kilo. and any monetary loans were then deducted In 1999, there was no concession owner for from the pay of the gatherers when the resin almaciga resin collection from the forests around was turned in. An unpublished study in 1997 of Boong. The Chief Elder of the Boong Tribal almaciga collection in the nearby municipalities Council applied for a license to collect almaciga of Puerto Princesa and Quezon by the Palawan resin from the Department of Environment Council for Sustainable Development reported and Natural Resources until their CADT was that a concession owner had an average of fi ve approved. However, he had not been successful in middlemen for his/her concession area, and each acquiring this license. The DENR personnel in the middleman in turn supervised thirteen to thirty area advised him that the CADT was forthcoming,

140 Lacuna-Richman Ethnicity and the Utilization of Non-Wood Forest Products: Findings from Three Philippine Villages

and the granting of a license would be redundant. 4.2 The Relation between Ethnicity and As a result, the Tagbanua collectors then tended Other Factors Affecting NWFP Use to sell their resin one kilo at a time to villagers in Dumanguena who were license-holders. There 4.2.1 Differences among Communities’ Use were two main disadvantages to this arrangement of NWFPs for the Tagbanua. First, they had to make more frequent trips to sell the almaciga they collected, The Effects of Ethnicity on NWFP Collection: thus expending more time and energy to market Hypothesis Testing Based on the Initial Inter- less product. Second, the absence of a legal docu- views ment prevented them from getting a better price for each kilogram of resin. They were then earn- The number of NWFPs collected by indigenous ing fi ve Pesos a kilo to the migrants’ six, when people and migrants in Palawan was not signifi - under the concession system, they could earn the cantly different (p > 0.05). Therefore, in this case same as the migrants. The Tagbanua collectors whether or not a person is an indigenous person aspired either for an almaciga collecting license, was not signifi cantly associated with the number or their village’s CADT to push through, because of NWFPs collected (Table 3). in part, this would have meant that they could get As far as the number of NWFPs collected is the provincial capital price of twelve Pesos per concerned, the populations of the migrant vil- kilogram. This in turn was because the Tagbanua lage of Manaile and the non-migrant Visayan would then have had the right to market the resin settlement of Cienda belonged to totally different in Puerto Princesa. populations. The same was true for the indigenous In interviews with some buyers of Tagbanua- village of Boong and the non-migrant settlement collected resin, there was some agreement that of Cienda. The results suggest that people from a when the CADT is awarded, the Tagbanua would similar ethnic background, who had remained in gain control of the sale of resin. However, various their original settlement such as Cienda and those interviewees including personnel of the DENR, who had settled in a different area, such as Manaile villagers from the migrants’ area, and the Tag- villagers, were affected more by their environment banua themselves said that the CADT would not than by common cultural infl uences. Although the help them much in the absence of support serv- results were limited only to three villages, this may ices. Among the support services discussed by have some bearing on the theory that groups with informants were: a better road into Boong, some indigenous status have more knowledge of useful help in marketing almaciga resin in the capital; plant species. However, it should also be consid- an improved literacy rate among the Tagbanua ered that although the population of Manaile was to better understand written agreements; and the composed of migrants from the Visayas Region, establishment of a working tree tenure system. they were not necessarily from Leyte, nor specifi - cally from Cienda. As mentioned earlier, Cienda was selected as the third study village because it was located in one of the few remaining forested areas in the Visayas.

Table 3. Number of NWFPs collected by households in villages populated by indigenous and migrant people, based on the number of NWFPs mentioned during initial interviews (z-test).

Indigenous village Migrant village Non-migrant settlement (Boong) (Manaile) (Cienda)

Mean number of NWFPs 7.1 6.1 3.3 Standard error 0.57 0.73 0.44 z-test, p ≤ 0.05 a) ab b a

a) Means followed by same letter do not differ statistically signifi cantly.

141 Silva Fennica 37(1) research articles

The Effects of Ethnicity on NWFP Collection: As in the z-tests based on the initial interviews, Hypothesis Testing based on the Second Phase the indigenous status of both the Tagbanua and of Interviews the non-migrant Visayan community had little bearing on the number of NWFPs identifi ed and The results of the answers given during the second collected. However, it could be noted that the phase of interviews differed to some extent from indigenous community (Tagbanua) had both iden- the results of the fi rst phase, in an unexpected way. tifi ed and claimed to have collected a signifi cantly In the second phase, the indigenous people on greater number of NWFPs than the non-migrant average identifi ed fewer NWFP species than the Visayan community. migrants, though not signifi cantly (p ≤ 0.05). It is not easy to account for this result; statements given by some of the migrant respondents provides one 4.2.2 Effects of Household Factors to Use of explanation, which is, that they had learned about NWFPs local species from the indigenous Tagbanua while retaining their knowledge about useful plants from Indigenous Community: Correlation and F-test their original settlement. This explanation may Results be borne by the signifi cantly greater number of NWFPs identifi ed (Table 4a) and collected (Table As expected, the respondents affi rmed the use of 4b) by the migrant villagers, over those of the the plants they had already mentioned during the non-migrant Visayan community. initial interviews. In addition, they mentioned However, although the migrant households other plants on the checklist. Thus, the socio- identifi ed more NWFPs than the indigenous economic characteristics used as independent households during the second phase of inter- variables in the initial analysis were again views, the latter collected and used more of the correlated with the number of plants identifi ed NWFPs identifi ed than the former, although not by the respondents during the second phase of signifi cantly more. This reinforces the results of interviews, with the checklist (Table 7). The f- the initial interviews. test results for the factors of ‘Gender’ and ‘Hunt’

Table 4a. Number of NWFPs identifi ed by households in villages populated by indigenous and migrant people, based on the number of NWFPs compiled in the checklist during the second phase of interviews (z-test).

Indigenous village Migrant village Non-migrant settlement (Boong) (Manaile) (Cienda)

Mean number of NWFPs 54.3 60.2 26.7 Standard error 1.32 1.42 0.30 z-test, p ≤ 0.05 a) ab a b a) Means followed by the same letter do not differ statistically signifi cantly.

Table 4b. Number of NWFPs collected by households in villages populated by indigenous and migrant people, based on the number of NWFPs identifi ed in the checklist during the second phase of interviews (z-test).

Indigenous village Migrant village Non-migrant settlement (Boong) (Manaile) (Cienda)

Mean number of NWFPs 42.3 39.0 22.2 Standard error 3.29 2.73 0.64 z-test, p ≤ 0.05 a) ab a b a) Means followed by the same letter do not differ statistically signifi cantly.

142 Lacuna-Richman Ethnicity and the Utilization of Non-Wood Forest Products: Findings from Three Philippine Villages

Table 5. Correlation of selected socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents in the three study villages, against number of non-wood forest products identifi ed as useful to the households, during the initial interviews.

Socioeconomic factor Village Boong Manaile Cienda r P-value a) r P-value r P-value

Age 0.143 0.326 0.003 0.985 0.146 0.368 Education –0.245 0.090 0.150 0.336 –0.153 0.345 Size of family 0.193 0.185 –0.08 0.611 0.129 0.428 Income –0.120 0.411 –0.175 0.262 –0.081 0.618 Landholding 0.146 0.317 0.269 0.081 0.122 0.455 Food expenditure –0.194 0.181 0.100 0.523 0.037 0.820

a) P-value – Probability

Table 6. Results of F-distribution tests on selected socioeconomic characteristics of respondents in three study villages, against number of non-wood forest products identifi ed as useful to the households, during the initial phase of interviews.

Socioeconomic Village factor Boong, df = 48 a) Manaile, df = 42 Cienda, df = 39 F-distribution F-test F-distribution F-test F-distribution F-test critical value critical value critical value

Gender 6.397** ≥ 4.00 to 4.08 2.927 ≥ 4.00 to 4.08 2.318 ≥ 4.08 to 4.17 Hunt 4.12** ≥ 4.00 to 4.08 4.347** ≥ 4.00 to 4.08 4.058 ≥ 4.08 to 4.17

a) df = degrees of freedom ** p = .05

showed a signifi cant correlation between the pres- the initial and the second phase of interviews in ence of a hunter in the household and the number Manaile (Tables 5 and 7). However, as in the of NWFPs identifi ed (Table 6). The correlation indigenous community of Boong, the result from results based on both the initial and the second the initial interviews showed that the presence phase of interviews in the indigenous community of hunters within the household was positively of Boong (Tables 5 and 7) showed no signifi cant associated with knowledge of NWFPs (Table 6). correlation between the number of non-wood This result was not duplicated in the F-tests based forest products identifi ed, and selected socio- on the second phase of interviews (Table 8), when economic factors. Results of the F-test based on there were no factors that were signifi cantly asso- the second phase of interviews supported those of ciated with the number of NWFPs identifi ed. the initial interviews. The presence of a hunter in a household was signifi cantly associated with the household’s knowledge of NWFPs (Table 8). Non-Migrant Settlement: Correlation and F-test Results

Migrant Community: Correlation and F-test The initial interviews in Cienda showed no sig- Results based on Initial Interviews nifi cant correlation between the number of non- wood forest products identifi ed, and selected There was no signifi cant correlation between the socioeconomic factors (Table 5). In the F-test, number of non-wood forest products identifi ed, there were no signifi cant associations between the and selected socioeconomic factors based on both factors of gender and the presence of a hunter in

143 Silva Fennica 37(1) research articles

Table 7. Correlation of selected socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents in the three study villages, against number of non-wood forest products identifi ed as useful to the households, during the second phase of interviews.

Socioeconomic factor Village Boong Manaile Cienda r P-value a) r P-value r P-value

Age 0.264 0.064 0.003 0.982 0.351 0.078 Education –0.123 0.397 –0.043 0.787 –0.278 0.078 Size of family 0.170 0.239 –0.123 0.434 0.415** 0.008 Income –0.127 0.379 –0.057 0.715 –0.436** 0.004 Landholding 0.151 0.295 –0.074 0.635 –0.046 0.776 Food expenditure 0.194 0.181 –0.015 0.921 –0.312** 0.050 a) P-value – Probability ** Statistically signifi cant

Table 8. Results of F-distribution tests on selected socioeconomic characteristics of respondents in three study villages, against number of non-wood forest products identifi ed as useful to the households, during the second phase of interviews.

Socioeconomic Village factor Boong, df = 48 a) Manaile, df = 42 Cienda, df = 39 F-distribution F-test F-distribution F-test F-distribution F-test critical value critical value critical value

Gender 1.151 ≥ 4.00 to 4.08 1.728 ≥ 4.00 to 4.08 2.048 ≥ 4.08 to 4.17 Hunt 6.97** ≥ 4.00 to 4.08 2.581 ≥ 4.00 to 4.08 4.810** ≥ 4.08 to 4.17 a) df = degrees of freedom ** p = .05

the household, and number of NWFPs identifi ed, 5 Discussion although the factor of ‘Hunt’ was close to being signifi cant at 0.05 (Table 6). In the attempt to formulate a hypothesis explain- Using the data from the second phase of inter- ing levels of non-wood forest product use, the views, it was found that three of the six inde- possibility that the indigenous status of the collec- pendent variables correlated with the number of tors was the most important factor affecting both non-wood forest products identifi ed as used by the knowledge of useful forest species and actual the household were statistically signifi cant. These use of these NWFPs was always kept in mind. three variables were size of family, income, and However, the statistical results from this study do food expenditure (Table 7). Like the results of the not support this hypothesis. Indigenous people do indigenous community and the migrant commu- not necessarily have greater knowledge or have nity for the initial interviews, and the indigenous higher use levels of NWFPs than migrant popula- community during the second phase of inter- tions. Although a notably greater percentage of views, the presence of a hunter in a household the households in the indigenous community were was signifi cantly correlated with the number of dependent on commercial NWFP extraction for NWFPs identifi ed (Table 8). their livelihood than the migrant community, the Tagbanua did not identify a signifi cantly greater

144 Lacuna-Richman Ethnicity and the Utilization of Non-Wood Forest Products: Findings from Three Philippine Villages

number of useful forest species than their migrant community make them prone to exploitation neighbors. The non-migrant Visayan settlement by non-indigenous people who are more adept did not identify signifi cantly more useful forest at these matters. Results of such a predicament plants than the migrant community. They also included receiving smaller compensation for the identifi ed signifi cantly fewer NWFPs than the NWFPs they gathered than the migrants, the indigenous community. That the indigenous inability to get licenses and permits for selling community had a much higher percentage of certain commercial NWFPs, and a dependence on households dependent on commercial NWFP the villagers from the neighboring migrant com- collection for their main source of income could munity to act as middlemen. The preference of the be explained though, by other observations made Tagbanua for rice as the main staple food some- during visits to the three villages that do not lend times lead them to trade for rice with NWFPs at themselves well to quantitative or statistical rates of exchange that were unfavorable to them. analysis. It is diffi cult to say whether these non- The distance between the village and the national quantitative observations should be given less highway and their own lack of a daily regular merit than the statistical results. means of transportation discouraged the Tagbanua Some of these observations came from interac- from marketing NWFPs in places where they tion with the respondents, such as the diffi culty could have gotten better prices for them. Large of people classifi ed as ‘indigenous’ in the Philip- amounts of commercial NWFPs thus were sold pines to get legal assistance and the inability of for much less in the migrant community, where many respondents from the indigenous commu- the villagers who had access to transport and busi- nity to read documents presented to them. Also, ness contacts could sell them at the market price, although the landholdings of the Tagbanua were instead of the ‘forest-gate’ price. slightly larger, on average, from those of the In summary, results of the descriptive statis- migrants, this land was usually on slopes and tics, rather than the z-tests, tell a more accurate not on the more productive lowlands where the story of all three villages of the study. Those migrants had their rice fi elds. Other observations households with heads who were older, with less were physical, such as the distance between the formal education, and more dependent children indigenous village and the National Highway, and used more NWFPs, and had fewer options for the fact that the Tagbanua had to pass through the other sources of livelihood. However, the z-tests migrant village to reach the nearest daily public give emphasis to the particular socioeconomic transit to other communities. There was also the variables that are related to NWFP use in each almost complete absence of non-biodegradable specifi c community. garbage in Boong and Cienda, both settlements In the indigenous community, data from both of people native to the area. A visual inspec- rounds of interviews support the observation that tion of the houses and paths of both Boong and a signifi cant factor affecting the knowledge and Cienda, where there was hardly any of today’s use of forest plants was the presence of a hunter ‘consumer garbage,’ would support the statistical or hunters within the household. Part of this data. According to some respondents, this was observation were the food collection strategies due to the fact that they seldom bought anything of the forest guides of the project, of which this from the stores because of the prohibitive cost study was a part, hunters themselves. In subse- of merchandise. The remains of goods that came quent forest trips by a researcher in this project, it from the forest or their own kaingin plots just rot was evident that the consumption of uncultivated away when done with. vegetables, fruits, and the pith of certain These observations and others were possibly were expected to extend the food brought along critical indicators of the differences in livelihood for the trip by the guides. In addition, these forest between some indigenous and migrant communi- plants were usually brought home by the guide/ ties and could be explanatory factors for their use hunter to his family to be prepared by his wife or of NWFPs. older children for meals. The f-test results also For example, the lack of legal assistance for, show that gender is signifi cantly associated with and functional literacy among the indigenous NWFP knowledge and use. Women and female

145 Silva Fennica 37(1) research articles children who had fathers, husbands, or broth- user groups and possibly reduce stress on the ers who hunted, often knew more about forest resources, rather than simply stereotyping cer- plants than female respondents who did not have tain user groups as either harmful or blameless. a hunter in their immediate family. Lessening the social and economic gap between In the non-migrant settlement of Cienda, the ‘indigenous’ people and the dominant local cul- variables signifi cantly correlated to NWFP use ture, for example by providing appropriate edu- were size of family, income and food expenditure. cational opportunities, could also increase their These results support common beliefs about non- ability to protect and use their forest resources as wood forest product use. Households with less they see fi t and for their own benefi t. income, less to spend on food and more depend- ent members may have had a greater incentive to augment their income and food supply with non-wood forest products. The data gives some Acknowledgements support to the widely-held assumption among NWFP researchers that forest food is often used The author would like to acknowledge Prof. Olli to augment the food budget of households that Saastamoinen, for his support as academic super- cannot afford to meet all their nutritional needs visor, and Dr. Josef Margraf and Prof. Paciencia from cultivated produce or purchased foods. As Milan for their valuable advice on possible sites. a representative variable for labor allocation in Thanks are due to Loreta Alsa and Siegfried Diaz the study of Wickramasinghe et al (1996), family in Palawan, Nelson Oquias and Marlito Bande size was also considered the determining factor on in Leyte for assisting as interpreters and facilita- whether a household collects NWFPs or not. tors; Mark Richman and Elina Uitamo for helping arrange the logistics from Finland. Acknowledge- ments are also due to the FIBRE and FIGARE Programmes of the Academy of Finland for fund- 6 Conclusion ing various phases of the study, and to the anony- mous referees who have given their appreciated In the fi nal analysis, it is not so much the indig- comments to drafts of this manuscript. Finally, enous status of the gatherers that may affect their many thanks to the people of Boong and Manaile knowledge and use of NWFPs, but the opportuni- in Palawan, and Cienda in Leyte, for their kind- ties that their position in society provides them ness, openness and indispensable help. with. This position may include their indigenous status, but not necessarily so. It more likely involves the above-mentioned socioeconomic factors, plus the lack of access to roads, markets, References land tenure, or land for more productive agricul- ture. In the three villages studied, the forest serves Aagesen, D.L. 1998. Indigenous resource rights and as a buffer for the failures of the prevailing eco- conservation of the Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria nomic system to provide such necessities for its araucana, Araucariaceae): a case study from south- members. However, neither forest resources nor ern Chile. Economic Botany 52: 146–160. the way of life of indigenous people dependent Appasamy, P.P. 1993. Role of non-timber forest prod- on those resources remains static. Commercial ucts in a subsistence economy: the case of a joint NWFPs such as almaciga resin are nearing deple- forestry project in India. Economic Botany 47(3): tion, and people such as the Tagbanua are losing 258–267. their traditional livelihood without discernable Chopra, K. 1993. The value of non-timber forest prod- prospects for a good livelihood within the main- ucts: an estimation for tropical deciduous forests in stream economy. For this reason alone, further India. Economic Botany 47(3): 251–257. studies of NWFPs could be helpful if they could Conelly, W.T. 1996. Strategies of indigenous resource be directed at investigating optimum extraction use among the Tagbanua. In: Eder, J.F. & - practices. Study of extraction may benefi t all andez, J.O. (eds.). Palawan at the crossroads:

146 Lacuna-Richman Ethnicity and the Utilization of Non-Wood Forest Products: Findings from Three Philippine Villages

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