Toward an Integrated Social-ecological Assessment of a Traditional Upland Rice-based Agroecosystem in Southern Philippines

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Located in Southern Philippines, the Sarangani traditional agroecosystem currently sits at the nexus of ecological devastation, bio-cultural erosion, and pervasive modernization. Upland farms in these remote areas are inhabited predominantly by smallholder tribal households who cultivate rice landraces using traditional farming methods. Integrated agroecosystem assessment revealed Sarangani social-ecological system (SES) components, along with connections and feedback loops that underlie their interactions. DPSIR and CCA jointly identified drivers of change in Sarangani SES, revealed its key features, and investigated the whole gamut of issues impacting it. CCA, based on an Ishikawa cause and effect diagram, identified upland poverty, tribal culture and government mismanagement as root causes of intractable problems in the Sarangani SES while DPSIR successfully gauged the suitability of responses instituted by the local government. Study results can thus be used as bases for policy/programs that will resolve problem root causes in the Sarangani SES. In addition, steps must be undertaken to mitigate the effects of climate change which has proven to be utterly devastating in these vulnerable areas. Finally, for traditional agroecosystems like the Sarangani SES, interventions that uphold human well-being while conserving tribal culture/resources and preserving the environment are therefore warranted. Keywords: social-ecological systems, DPSIR, causal chain analysis, Sarangani, traditional agroecosystem