Effects of COVID-19 on Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) in selected regions of the Philippines
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Everyone, regardless of socio-economic status and location, has been affected at varying degrees by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, those living in the uplands have borne the brunt of COVID-19, because lesser resources are at their disposal compared to their lowland counterparts. Moreover, deforestation, landscape fragmentation, habitat destruction, and illegal wildlife trade are being blamed at them as the reasons behind the pathogen transmission. With an estimated area of 1.6 million hectares of forest under the management of people’s organizations (POs) through the Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) Program of the Philippine Government, the importance of these communities cannot be overly emphasized in effecting
sustainable forest management to prevent future disease outbreaks. This study assesses the impacts of COVID- 19 on forest management activities and livelihood of upland communities in 15 of the 18 regions of the country implementing CBFM Program through online focus group discussions (FGDs) with the officers and staff of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) at the regional, provincial, and local levels. Initial results indicate that lockdowns have adversely affected the production activities of the POs, which consequently resulted in a decrease in income. In addition, an increase in illegal activities such as timber poaching, charcoal making, and swidden farming have been observed in some areas as forest protection activities have been put on hold. Enterprising POs, however, have ventured into selling their cash crops, ornamental plants, and other products online for income generation, while others focused their time on tending their agroforestry farms. The findings of this study can be used as bases for targeted interventions (i.e., employment in forest restoration and monitoring, strengthening alternative livelihoods) of the government to avert a further decline in forest condition, even beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19, community-based forest management, sustainable forest management
ID: 3486614