HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN Landwirtschaftlich-Gärtnerische Fakultät Schriftenreihe des Seminars für Ländliche Entwicklung Natural Resource Management Strategies on Leyte Island, Philippines SLE CENTRE FOR ADVANCED TRAINING IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT Cover page photos Top left: Forest land in mountainous area Top right: Subsistence fisherman Bottom left: Abaca, manual stripping Bottom right: Community information board HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN Landwirtschaftlich-Gärtnerische Fakultät Schriftenreihe des Seminars für Ländliche Entwicklung Natural Resource Management Strategies on Leyte Island, Philippines Andreas Groetschel (Team Leader) Reynaldo R. Aquino Inga Buchholz Tellita G. Eufracio-Mazo Anja Ibkendanz Novie A. Sales Jan Seven Kareen C. Vicentuan SLE: Podbielskialle 66 14195 Berlin, Germany Phone: +49 – 30 – 31471334 Fax: +49 – 30 – 31471409 http://www.agrar.hu-berlin.de/sle Baybay / Berlin, November 2001 SLE CENTRE FOR ADVANCED TRAINING IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT (Philippines, S193) Schriftenreihe des SLE (Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung) (Publication Series by the Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development) Herausgeber: SLE (Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung) (Editors) (Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development) Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Humboldt University Berlin) Podbielskiallee 66 D-14195 Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany Phone: 0049-30-314 71334; Fax: 0049-30-314 71409 E-mail: [email protected] URL: http://www.agrar.hu-berlin.de/sle URL: http://www.berlinerseminar.de Redaktion: Dr. Karin Fiege (Managing Editor) SLE (Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung) Druck: Offset-Druckerei Gerhard Weinert GmbH (Printers) Saalburgstr. 3 D-12099 Berlin Verlag und Vertrieb:Margraf Verlag (Publishers and Postfach 105 Distributors) D-97985 Weikersheim 1. Auflage 2001: 1-500 (1st edition 2001) Copyright 2001 by: SLE - Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung, Berlin (Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development) ISSN 1433-4585 ISBN 3-8236-1360-X FOREWORD I Foreword This report is the result of a six-month project carried out by a Filipino-German consultant team at the request of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ). The German team members, except the team leader, were participants of the 39th annual training course at the Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development (SLE), Humboldt University Berlin. The team was composed of an agricultural economist, a forester, a geographer, a development communication specialist, an agribusiness specialist, an agricultural scientist, a horticulturist, and a marine biologist. The project was carried out in close collaboration with the “Leyte Island Program for Sustainable Natural Resource Management”, and the Leyte State University, Baybay. Interdisciplinary consultancy projects are an integral part of SLE’s training pro- gramme. The programme aims at preparing young professionals for assignments in bilateral and multilateral development organisations. It enables participants to obtain valuable practice in the use of action- and decision-oriented appraisal methods. At the same time, projects contribute directly to identifying and solving problems in rural development. In 2001, the five groups of SLE’s 39th course simultaneously conducted projects in Ecuador, Malawi, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, and Sri Lanka. Prof. Dr. Ernst Lindemann Dr. Bernd Schubert Dean Director Faculty of Agricultural and SLE – Centre for Advanced Training in Horticultural Sciences Rural Development II ACKNOWLEDGMENT III Acknowledgement The research team would like to express its sincere gratitude to all those who made this study possible. Without the ample support we received, in the Philip- pines and in Germany, this task would not have been accomplished. Our prime gratitude goes to the people of Leyte Island who welcomed us so openly. The overwhelming hospitality we encountered made the field work for the study an enjoyable experience. The research team would like to thank the resi- dents in the Barangays Conalum, Esperanza, Palanog, Kahupian, and Calag-Itan in particular, for sharing their time and experience with us. We are also grateful to the staff and officials in all the LGUs we visited. The information and data they provided, together with the interesting discussions we had in their offices or dur- ing joint field trips, greatly helped in improving this report. The research team highly appreciates all the support received from Government and Non-Governmental Organisations. We appreciate the help and support we received at all levels. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge the assistance provided by the staff of the Leyte Island Program. Alongside their many other commitments, they managed to support us in so many different ways. Special thanks go to the President and the staff of the Leyte State University. The valuable guidance and assistance we received further enhanced the quality of the report. We are thankful to have had the opportunity to stay on the beautiful and well-equipped campus for large parts of our three-month stay. We also thank the colleagues who provided important comments and advice during the preparation of this study. Their professionalism and patience have helped a lot to successfully complete this report. Salamat. IV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY V Executive summary Leyte Island is the 8th largest of the Philippine islands, located in Region 8, East- ern Visayas. It comprises of Leyte province and Southern Leyte province, with a total land area of about 750,000ha and a population of 1.5 million. 55% of the households depend on agriculture and fishing to make their living. The average annual family income (1997) stands at PhP66,000. The poverty incidence of families is 41%. Leyte Island has relatively flat lands along its coastline, and rugged to mountain- ous terrain towards the interior. Large plains can be found on the eastern and western side of Leyte province. Forest lands were once the most important natu- ral resource. In 1939, 42% of the land was covered with trees, but by 1987 this area had decreased to 12%. Figures from Southern Leyte province indicate that 76% of designated forest land is under agricultural production. The major agri- cultural crops grown are coconut, abaca and sugarcane as cash crops, with rice, cassava, banana, sweet potato, and corn grown primarily for subsistence. Only about 6% of households are primarily engaged in fishing, however, additional fishing activities for home consumption is common. Marine resources have been depleting due to over fishing and destruction of natural breeding grounds by dy- namite and poison fishing. The Leyte Island Program for Sustainable Natural Resource Management aims at supporting efforts to combat the further depletion of natural resources on the island. The GTZ supported programme is the umbrella for three projects, namely the Leyte Bufferzone Forest Management and Reforestation by Smallholder Communities Project (BUFOM), the Integrated Community Based Coastal Zone Management, Silago Bay (ICOM) and the Tacloban Urban Development and En- vironmental Management Project (TUDEM). The programme emphasises partici- patory planning and implementation by strengthening private and official initia- tives for the mutual benefit of the people involved. It started in January 2001 and is due to run for approximately ten years. This study, which was commissioned by GTZ, aims at providing base line infor- mation to LIP. The findings are based on research conducted in four sites, which are also pilot sites for the LIP projects, and on information collected from different institutions and programmes at various levels. VI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The institutional framework for natural resource management The major players in natural resource management in the Philippines are the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Agrarian Reform, and the Department of Agriculture including its affiliate authori- ties. A large area in the highlands of Leyte Island is under the jurisdiction of the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC). It is exploiting the geothermal re- sources and is also responsible for environmental management of the area. Land titling is always with DENR, while responsibilities concerning actual land utilisa- tion are shared between these institutions. Forest lands are under the jurisdiction of DENR; activities on alienable and disposable (A&D) land are the responsibility of DA, while DAR is the organisation in charge of land under the agrarian reform programme. The disputed delineation between these different areas is often a cause of problems. The decentralisation process, ongoing since the early 1990s, has shifted respon- sibilities from the central government to a local level. Local Government Units (LGUs), especially at the municipal level, are the supposed key players for im- plementation of projects and support measures such as extension services. There are offices whose defined task is to support the local development through their expertise and financial help. The Local Government Code stipulates the tasks for agricultural planning and development, environment, health, social, and other related tasks. However, important positions such as the Municipal Envi- ronment and Natural Resource Officer (MENRO) are optional, and so far, have not been established. National line agencies are still responsible for providing support to LGUs. Only limited staff and budget has yet been devolved. The decentralisation process created new offices at provincial,