Planning Agroforestry

Agroforestry is a continuum. Some people emphasize the Agricultural aspects and merely integrate a few tree species to prevent soil erosion or provide supplemental cash income. On the opposite end are forests into which a small amount of agriculture has been introduced to provide food for forest dwellers.

A Sustainable Management Plan is a government requirement for the Indigenous People who intend to Title their Ancestral Domain according to the IPRA law. Such a Management Plan should include agriculture and other activities to provide basic livelihood for the forest dwellers but it should also provide for the protection of endangered species, threatened resources, water resources, carbon sequestration and other of the important forest services. This can be accomplished if the planning is wisely done.

The emphasis in this paper is close to the forestry end of the continuum and describes the experiences within the ancestral domain of the Ikalahan people of Northern Luzon.

The technique used within the Ikalahan Ancestral Domain is described in some detail. It conscientiously avoids planning for the community. It consists of several steps, each one designed to lead the community members to develop a sustainable management program which will protect the natural environment and resources with emphasis on self-sufficiency. The steps are:

1. WHY - Basic Ecology Seminar - Village level
2. WHAT - Resource Analysis Workshop - Village level
3. WHERE - Land Use Planning Workshop - Village level
4. WHO & HOW - Management Planning Workshop - Cluster level
5. Drafting a Management Agreement (Workshop) - Cluster level
6. Negotiation of the Management Agreement - National level

This process has been tested and found effective. The resulting plans are holistic and protective. The method is recommended for use in both Social Forestry areas and Ancestral Domains.

Source: Philippine National Agroforestry Committee (ed), 2003. Paper presented during the National Forestry Congress "Convergence for the Agroforestry Development in the Philippines" November 19-20 2003, Leyte State University, Baybay Leyte, Philippines.