Abstract
Forest-dependent communities in the tropics typically rank lower in socioeconomic status than agricultural and urban communities, and improving livelihood choices while protecting forest resources can be a difficult task. Conflicts can arise where biodiversity conservation objectives restrict resource access to forest communities. In this study, we investigate how land cover, land use, and protected area management affects communities around a forest reserve in the Philippines. We conduct a socioeconomic analysis at two scales: a municipal-level analysis relating land use to socioeconomic status, and a community-level analysis contrasting villages that are close to and distant from a protected forest area. While forest-dependent communities generally had fewer amenities and infrastructure than agricultural and urban communities, community-level analysis showed that socioeconomic status was higher in areas close to protected areas. The study provides a counter-example to other findings by showing that access to resources improves socioeconomic status for local communities while maintaining environmental protections. We conclude that incorporating local livelihoods into forest conservation strategies, such as collection of non-timber forest product, results in a measure of sustainability, which in turn has a significant positive impact on the socioeconomic well-being of communities near the protected area.
Highlights
Despite global increases in protected area coverage and the amount of community-managed forest lands (Zimmerer et al 2004; Molnar et al 2007), natural tropical forests are still declining worldwide (Hansen et al 2013)
We found that there is significant amount of land that is designated for forest use (30% forest land and 9% protected area, Table 2) in the provincial land use plans, most forest land is being used for large-scale or subsistence agriculture
The results of this study offer insights about protected areas management and poverty alleviation
Summary
Despite global increases in protected area coverage and the amount of community-managed forest lands (Zimmerer et al 2004; Molnar et al 2007), natural tropical forests are still declining worldwide (Hansen et al 2013). Deforestation threatens animal and plant biodiversity, water and air quality, the livelihoods and food security of forest-dependent communities that are the poorest and most vulnerable In the absence of other options for employment and income, these communities are often the poorest and the most depend on natural resources for their livelihoods (Adams et al 2004; Levang et al 2005). Within these settings, some analysts argue for strict protection as the only way to save remaining forests (Shahabuddin and Rao 2010). Others suggest that community-led, locally implemented conservation that allows moderate use of buffer zones can lead to ecological and economic benefits
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