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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196 • Herl<strong>in</strong>a Hartanto<br />
A multistakeholder forum also appears to be a useful platform to improve<br />
communication and facilitate collaboration <strong>in</strong> places where <strong>in</strong>stitutional<br />
roles and <strong>in</strong>terests overlap. Such a forum can br<strong>in</strong>g together the <strong>in</strong>formation,<br />
perspectives, experience and knowledge held by different stakeholders. It<br />
may take time for a multistakeholder body to function effectively, as <strong>in</strong> the<br />
case <strong>of</strong> the Protected Area Management Board at the ACM Bukidnon<br />
site. Established <strong>in</strong> 1993, the board comprises the park super<strong>in</strong>tendent,<br />
<strong>in</strong>digenous leaders, and representatives from DENR, municipal and village<br />
governments, local NGOs and POs. Although the board was dom<strong>in</strong>ated by<br />
government representatives, the dynamics with<strong>in</strong> the board improved over<br />
time as stakeholders saw the usefulness <strong>of</strong> the forum and the <strong>in</strong>digenous<br />
members ga<strong>in</strong>ed confidence <strong>in</strong> express<strong>in</strong>g their concerns openly. There had<br />
been several attempts to establish multistakeholder forums, such as the<br />
Technical Work<strong>in</strong>g Group for Resource Management and other prov<strong>in</strong>cial<br />
technical work<strong>in</strong>g groups, <strong>in</strong> Palawan <strong>in</strong> previous years, <strong>in</strong>dicative <strong>of</strong><br />
stakeholders’ <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> collaborat<strong>in</strong>g and coord<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g their efforts.<br />
These forums may well be one solution to the <strong>in</strong>stitutional complexity <strong>in</strong><br />
Palawan.<br />
Lack <strong>of</strong> conscious learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Forest <strong>management</strong> plann<strong>in</strong>g and implementation <strong>in</strong> both ACM sites has<br />
been mechanistic and l<strong>in</strong>ear. The POs manage their <strong>forests</strong> by follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
DENR requirements and procedures; reflections on their experience and<br />
evaluations <strong>of</strong> their work plans were sporadic, and lessons learnt were not<br />
<strong>in</strong>corporated <strong>in</strong>to future strategies (Arda-M<strong>in</strong>as 2002; Lorenzo 2002).<br />
This situation was exacerbated by the complexities <strong>of</strong> DENR regulations,<br />
which gave the POs little opportunity to experiment and devise <strong>in</strong>novative<br />
solutions. The POs hesitated to take risks for fear <strong>of</strong> penalties and suspension<br />
<strong>of</strong> their permits. The lack <strong>of</strong> immediate feedback mechanisms caused a lot<br />
<strong>of</strong> frustration among those who were engaged <strong>in</strong> daily forest <strong>management</strong>,<br />
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g DENR staff.<br />
The ACM learn<strong>in</strong>g tightened up the feedback loops <strong>in</strong> forest <strong>management</strong><br />
implementation. In facilitated meet<strong>in</strong>gs, the POs began to evaluate their<br />
actions and <strong>management</strong> strategies and use the lessons learnt to improve<br />
their subsequent <strong>management</strong> plans, and the ACM team attempted to<br />
<strong>in</strong>crease the POs’ awareness <strong>of</strong> the importance <strong>of</strong> monitor<strong>in</strong>g as a learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
tool. The team also helped the Palawan cooperative develop a system,<br />
through participatory processes, 10 to monitor the volume <strong>of</strong> forest resources