Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...
Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...
Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...
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Chapter 6: Facilitat<strong>in</strong>g Change from the Inside <strong>in</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es • 181<br />
Several other positive outcomes resulted from the successful resolution <strong>of</strong><br />
the boundary dispute. First, cooperative members learned about the Bataks’<br />
<strong>in</strong>digenous knowledge, specifically on res<strong>in</strong> extraction and medic<strong>in</strong>al herbs<br />
grow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the forset. Second, the cooperative became more will<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
engage the Bataks <strong>in</strong> skill-build<strong>in</strong>g activities. It <strong>in</strong>vited several Bataks to<br />
participate <strong>in</strong> the handicraft and nursery establishment tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>gs that were<br />
organised for the cooperative by assist<strong>in</strong>g agencies. Lastly, the two POs<br />
made coord<strong>in</strong>ated efforts to control illegal activities, such as illegal timber<br />
cutt<strong>in</strong>g and almaciga extraction, and report them to the appropriate state<br />
agencies.<br />
The jo<strong>in</strong>t learn<strong>in</strong>g and action with<strong>in</strong> the group and with participat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
stakeholders contributed to the success <strong>of</strong> the dispute settlement. Members<br />
learned by reflect<strong>in</strong>g on their actions, and learn<strong>in</strong>g was immediately<br />
transformed <strong>in</strong>to collective action (the survey, the dialogue) that engaged<br />
different stakeholders. Members also ga<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong>sights <strong>in</strong>to the Bataks’<br />
conception <strong>of</strong> boundaries and their livelihood problems. By accept<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the Bataks’ different conceptualisation <strong>of</strong> space, new opportunities for<br />
partnerships <strong>in</strong> almaciga trad<strong>in</strong>g emerged for both POs. Another outcome<br />
was the significantly improved levels <strong>of</strong> trust and engagement between the<br />
cooperative and the Bataks.<br />
Communication through newsletters and bullet<strong>in</strong> boards<br />
The low level <strong>of</strong> <strong>community</strong> participation <strong>in</strong> forest <strong>management</strong> was another<br />
priority issue <strong>in</strong> the Palawan site. The action learn<strong>in</strong>g group attributed<br />
the problem to villagers’ unmet expectations for economic benefits from<br />
<strong>community</strong> forestry and lack <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>formation about the PO’s activities and<br />
achievements. The group realised that the lack <strong>of</strong> benefits had discouraged<br />
their members from participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>community</strong> forest activities and<br />
<strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> forest <strong>management</strong> and decided to improve <strong>in</strong>formation and<br />
communication 9 .<br />
Its first strategy was to produce a newsletter, called Balangaw. The first<br />
issue was produced by two members <strong>of</strong> the board <strong>of</strong> directors with the<br />
help <strong>of</strong> the ACM team. The PO members and the local government who<br />
received this newsletter responded positively, f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g it <strong>in</strong>formative, with a<br />
clear statement <strong>of</strong> the PO’s vision, mission, objectives and recent activities.<br />
Encouraged, the group decided to produce the newsletters regularly and<br />
established an editorial team <strong>of</strong> three women and four men. Realis<strong>in</strong>g that