Effects of social capital, sense of community, and governance on the quality of natural resources in three types of communities in Lantapan, Bukidnon, Philippines

The study examined the relationships among social capital, sense of community governance, and quality of natural resources in three types of communities in Lantapan, Bukidnon. It characterized and compared these communities based on age, education, labor force participation, income and ethnicity, determined their relationships to social capital, sense of community, governance, and quality of natural resources, and examined the effects of these variables to the quality of natural resources. This study utilized data from the SANREM-CRSP [Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management-Collaborative Research Support Program] project in Lantapan, Bukidnon, which included: household survey data of Rola, et al (2003), community level data of Paunlagui, et al. (2003) and the panel data of the said project which ran from 1994 to 2001. Similarly, data from the municipality's Comprehensive Landuse and Watershed Management Plans were used. Social capital, a composite index of network, reciprocity and trust levels, was found to be moderate in the three types of communities. Sense of community was highest in the largely IP [indigenous people] community while of moderate levels in the moderately IP and largely migrant communities. Governance was rated high across three community types. Quality of both soil and water resources had moderate ratings in all communities. Social capital and ethnicity were positively related while sense of community had positive and significant relationship with ethnicity. Further, ethnicity had positive relationship with quality of water resources. Social capital, sense of community and governance had positive relationships and they were found to be positively related with water quality. The study found out that social capital, governance, and the status of soil and water resources had no significant differences among types of communities unlike sense of community which was found to be higher in largely indigenous communities as compared to migrant communities. Over all, improving the levels of social capital, sense of community, and governance would tend to have favorable effects on the qualities of soil, water, and the natural resources in general.