Palawan (Philippines)

‘Levelling the Playing Field’ (LPF), a four-year project based in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines, facilitates discussions and negotiations among stakeholders to achieve natural resource management that supports their livelihoods (Devanadera et al., 2004). Palawan Island, has some of the last remaining natural forest in the Philippines, where the Batak combine a hunter-gatherer livelihood with shifting cultivation. The Batak are under threat from decreasing population (Eder, 1987), disappearing forest resources, and a dependency relationship with outsiders living on the coast (district village). LPF was interested in using MLA methods to understand the Batak’s perspectives on the landscape and resources and traditional forest management systems, by focusing on locally important species.

The survey was conducted with the Batak community in Kalakwasan village, and at the same time served as a capacity-building exercise for LPF team members. It was organised by members of LPF-Philippines, CIFOR, two universities (Palawan State University and University of the Philippines Los Baños) and the local government’s Planning and Development office. The team included social scientists and facilitators from the district. Community members were helpful informants for village and field activities. The survey was restricted to one village of 136 inhabitants and its territory, and was carried out in 17 days.

The team used all parts of the original methods except the soil analysis, which they considered both expensive and unnecessary. Philippine botanists identified the specimens, while CIFOR staff analysed the data. Focus groups were based on gender only because only few villagers were present at the time of the survey. A crucial group of informants were the shamans, as they are the only villagers with knowledge about non-woody plants primarily used as medicine or for magic. The villagers formally accepted to host our activities, and participation increased after compensation was clarified. Because of low rice supplies at the time of the survey, they needed time for gathering forest resources.

LPF staff gained a new perspective on the Batak and their relationship with the outside world, and used the results to adapt the project activities and to involve the Batak more closely in decisions and planning. Some LPF staff, who didn’t participate in the survey, were surprised by the survey’s recommendations to have more LPF activities in the Batak village, instead of asking Batak representatives to come to the district, as was the case previously. LPF staff realised that, because of very different views on resource management and unequal power relations, they would have to work with the Batak and outsiders separately. A role-playing game on sustainable natural resource management was subsequently developed with both groups independently (Campo and Villanueva in http://www.iascp.org/bali/papers.html).

The survey also provided information on Batak priorities to donors and to Philippines institutions - including the city government in Palawan. This in turn will give the Batak a clearer profile at local, regional and national levels.

In this case study the MLA approach was an integral part of a long-term and comparative international project, which guaranteed follow-up to build on the survey’s results. Previous ‘participatory’ development projects in the area have seldom asked the Batak for their perspective on land management and their own priorities. Participation in the survey encouraged the team members to look at the landscape, its resources and threats thereto, from the Batak point of view. Some of the team now have new responsibilities (e.g. with the Biodiversity Research and Conservation Center based in Palawan) and their understanding of this marginalised group will influence their actions in the future.

The LPF team returned the results (such as the participatory maps) to the Batak. The main weakness of the survey was the short time in which it was conducted. Building a relationship with a community takes time and is essential for developing trust, understanding and involvement.