Participatory rural appraisal in the lowland ecosystem of Mt. Malindang, Misamis Occidental, Philippines

Results of the study revealed the following: 1) Of the 11 barangays [villages], only Siloy and Sinampongan have patches of natural forests. These forest are still inhabited by some endangered, economically-important, and rare primitive vascular plants and some wildlife. However, the lives of these species and wildlife are threatened because of habitat destruction. There is an urgent need to protect them. 2) Soil analysis show that acidity of soil increases with elevation and ruggedness of terrain. Moreover, an increase in acidification in areas using high amount of inorganic fertilizers were also observed. 3) Soil erosion is serious along riverbanks in cultivated "kaingin", and in marginal slopes. 4) Agriculture occupies the largest segment in the lowland areas, with coconut as the primary crop, followed by rice, corn, and root crops. The other subecosystems are settlement, secondary forest, and reforestation areas. 5) There is a significant reduction in coconut hectarage because it has become a cheap alternative source of lumber and indiscriminate conversion of coco lands into rice lands. 6) Intrusion of sea water into two major river systems, the Larangan and Dioyo Rivers, has been observed. This situation may have influence on the diversity of the aquatic ecosystems. 7) High-value fruits such as mangosteen, lanzones, mangoes, and "marang" abound. Micro-propagation and other horticultural techniques are necessary to mass propagate these crops. 8) Low yield in plantation crops is due to the incidence of pests and diseases such as tungro, green leaf hopper,black bug, and rats in rice, corn borer, leaf miner and rats in coconut, and the "bunzalo" problem in cooking banana. 9) Farmers are still traditional not only in terms of the agricultural activities, but also in their bekief system. Rituals are still performed to get good harvest and counter pests and diseases. 10) Decision-making is shared between the husband and the wife. The kinship system plays a major role in making decisions for biodiversity conservation activities. 11) Traditional forms of labor cooperation is popular. The huglos, pahina, alayon, and tampuhay are Filipino values of working together without financial renumeration. These cooperative efforts can be capitalized for biodiversity programs in Mt. Malindang. 12) Government support services provided are found inadequate or lacking. 13) The Timoay as tribal leader could be an instrument to bridge and encourage support from members of the indigenous groups for biodiversity development programs. 14) Population density appears to decrease with elevation. This situation means a greater biodiversity loss in areas with high population density like the lower elevation areas. 15) Fertility rate remains constant, despite family planning efforts. 16) Infant mortality has declined significantly and the average life span of adults longer because of improved delivery of health services. 17) For most of the year, there is labor underemployment. Many farm workers are employed seasonally (planting and harvesting). In between periods, they are unemployed. This is exacerbated by the farmers' low educational attainment. Any investment in human resource by government/nongovernment organizations can help farmers. Training and loans for livelihood activities can be extended. This is important in the effort towards biodiversity conservation as it will lessen the pressure to turn to the forests for survival. 18) Farm productivity is low because only land and labor are the pricipal capital for production. Capital investment is limited to the purchase of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, and sometimes the use of the simplest farm implement. Thus, agriculture is mainly for subsistence farming. Cash income is dictated by middlemen who set the price for farm produce. Farmers rely on them because of poor farm-to-market roads, lack of transportation, and distance to the market. Low income and poverty force farmers not to practice biodiversity conservation and turn to the forests for survival. 19) Landlessness also force the rural poor to turn to the forest, clear lands to make way for settlement and farm. Although CARP addresses this problem, its implementation remains limited. In some instances, there simply are no large parcels of land to redistribute. 20) It can be concluded that poverty, landlessness, and commercialization of the economy led to deforestation, biodiversity loss, and environmental destruction. Assistance programs aimed at addressing livelihood and landlessness problems may be coursed to protecting the environment as well. Assistance efforts towards biodiversity conservation are bound to succeed if poverty issues and the market forces are not ignored.