HOW  FORESTS  ENHANCE  LIVELIHOODS  AND  CLIMATE  RESILIENCE   MARCH  2017 Understanding the Role of Forests in Enhancing Livelihoods and Climate Resilience: Case Studies in the Philippines This policy brief presents the findings of a recent study focusing on two important aspects of forest ecosystems: How forest ecosystems help enhance people’s resilience to climate impacts, and How forest ecosystems support livelihood development for the poor. Introduction KEY MESSAGES The Philippines is constantly that can enhance the Philippines's The study conveys two important messages on exposed to extreme weather climate resilience. forests and development: events, such as typhoons and other climate-related forces. With The findings presented here will Forests are relevant to rising temperatures, increased complement these efforts by climate resilience. variability in precipitation, longer providing evidence of the potential dry spells, and more frequent and benefits of forest for enhancing This means that healthy intensified extreme weather- resilience, and accounting for the forests help reduce risks to benefits of forest in supporting events, climate change impacts climate variability by water flow and its availability for livelihoods. providing high-quality ecosystem services that domestic use and irrigation, contribute to more resilient especially in the driest and wettest communities. seasons. In turn, this phenomenon affects agricultural productivity and Forests are vital to income household incomes. and wealth generation, which means forests serve Climate change compounds the as a safety net against existing vulnerabilities of poor poverty and potentially households by eroding their increase access to economic opportunities. livelihood assets, which in turn compounds the impacts of climate The flip side of this reality is change. that climate change and other threats can render poor The Philippine government people poorer, as they are recognizes this detrimental often more vulnerable to dynamic, and has taken key steps global warming compared to to build national resilience to the non-poor. Enhancing climate change. Among these are community resilience to investments in forest resources. climate change and consequent shocks to The Government’s flagship livelihoods and the national National Greening Program economy is therefore a key (NGP), which aims to significantly component of poverty increase the country's forest cover reduction. and improve ecosystem services 1 OREST  EE HOW  FORESTS   NHANCE   NHANCE   ESILIENCE   RL IVELIHOODS   TO  A CND   LIMATE   CHANGE   CLIMATE   RESILIENCE   MARCH  2017 NOVEMBER   016 Study Objectives and Methodology The study aims to understand how forests and their • "Agricultural" is a landscape simulation with a ecosystem services – provisioning, cultural, and focus on agriculture within the landscape. regulating – contribute to poverty alleviation and • "Bare-Urban" is a landscape where the climate resilience. The findings have important watershed is highly urbanized and has large- implications for forest land use planning and scale conversion of natural vegetation to built-up management. areas. Undertaken between May 2015 and November 2016, In modeling and valuing forest ecosystem services, the study completed three analytical tasks: (1) the study used an ecosystem accounting approach modeling and valuing forest ecosystem services at that relies on the System of Environmental-Economic three study sites; (2) conducting surveys to Accounting (SEEA) framework. It specifically draws understand how local communities use forest o n t h e S E E A’s c o n c e p t s , d e fi n i t i o n s , a n d resources to support their livelihoods; and (3) classifications to guide the analysis. The study did not undertaking participatory scenario development and produce an ecosystem account. trade-off analyses to further determine how the forest In analyzing forest use, the study undertook a series communities could be impacted by certain types of of focus group discussions and key informant landscape development. interviews. Community mapping was also undertaken Four landscape simulations were developed at the to uncover the spatial location of the forest from the study sites to test ecosystem services under different community where the participants collect forest land cover extent and spatial arrangements: products. Finally, the study developed participatory scenarios • "Forested" is a landscape simulation where the for UMRBPL to illustrate how data and information on majority of the land cover of the watershed forest ecosystem services could inform local consists of closed forests. watershed development planning. • "Conservation" is a landscape simulation where enforcement of regulations of forest cover in riparian zones, on slopes greater than or equal to 50%, and on lands 1,000 meters above sea level are maintained. STUDY SITES Three case studies across the Philippines were selected for inclusion in the analysis. The study sites were identified based on specific criteria relating to climate change risk, poverty incidence, extent of forest cover, and information availability to ensure that the findings would be representative of local upland areas. Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL), which covers five municipalities of the province of Rizal — Rodriguez, Antipolo, Baras, San Mateo, and Tanay — and is located upstream of Metro Manila Libmanan-Pulantuna Watershed (LPW), which traverses the provinces of Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte in the Bicol region in Luzon Umayam, Minor and Agusan Marsh (UMAM) sub- basin in the Agusan River Basin in the Caraga region in the northeastern part of the southern island region of Mindanao 2 ORESTS  EENHANCE HOWFFOREST HOW   RESILIENCE NHANCE  LIVELIHOODS   TO C AND   CLIMATE CHANGE LIMATE  RESILIENCE   NOVEMBER 2016 MARCH  2017 Key Findings Forests are relevant in building climate resilience. By and have the potential to reduce annual sediment providing essential ecosystem services in regulating outflows from watersheds by seven to a hundred water flow and reducing hazards, forests are a cost times compared to bare soil. effective option to enhance resilience to climate 4. Replacing regulating ecosystem services is change, both in local communities and nationally. costly. Manmade erosion and sediment control services 1. Higher forest cover generates higher water are extremely costly. Reforestation is a lower-cost yields in the driest months of the year. alternative to securing erosion regulating Water yield, for instance, from shallow ground ecosystem services over the medium term. For water in the UMRBPL was estimated to be on example, in comparing results from UMRBPL with average 149% to 167% higher under the Forested the cost of installing cocomats in Rizal, it was landscape simulation compared to the Bare- found that installing cocomats costs PHP 3 million Urban landscape simulation. During the dry (US$ 0.06 million)/ha, while reforestation costs months, this helps building resilience in local approximately PHP 20,450 (US$ 411)/ha. communities dependent on these water resources 5. Poor upland communities depend highly on for agriculture and subsistence. provisioning forest ecosystem services. 2. Higher forest cover reduces the volume of Upland communities in UMRBPL, for instance, floodwater generated in the wettest months of reported that about 7% of their annual cash the year. income comes from the sale of forest resources The regulating function of forests on water flow like bamboo products, charcoal, fish, and bush reduces potential floodwater generation in meat. watersheds and in areas downstream of 6. Forests provide essential subsistence benefits watersheds. During the wettest months of the year, to poor upland communities through its higher forest cover can help reduce the volume of provisioning and regulating function. floodwater generated in a watershed by as much Water is the most important benefit, used for as 47%. This is particularly important to flood- domestic services and to some extent for irrigation. prone areas downstream of watersheds. Other benefits include water regulation, wood 3. Higher forest cover protects against erosion production, and biodiversity regulation. Forests and sediment generation to reduce the risk of also supply fuel wood for energy needs and herbal hazards. medicines for common ailments. Forests provide important protective functions. A 7. Poorer households in upland communities rely decline in sediment generation reduces the more on forest resources for income and potential for flooding, and lowers treatment costs subsistence. Results of analyses using statistical for people consuming water from streams. Forests measures of association suggest that the use of on steep slopes (30-50%) help mitigate the risk of forest resources for income and subsistence is erosion on a per hectare basis by 68% to 99%, more important among poor households compared to others. Proportion of dry season where daily river flows > 80% DFR 90 60 30 0 UMRBPL LPW UMAM Forested Conservation Agriculture Bare-Urban Comparison of proportions of dry season where the flow rate of the rivers in the study sites is > the 80% DFR’ across the four landscape simulations at the UMRBPL, LPW, and UMAM study sites for the period 2002–2012. 3 OREST  EE HOW  FORESTS   NHANCE   NHANCE   ESILIENCE   RL IVELIHOODS   TO  A CND   LIMATE   CHANGE   CLIMATE   RESILIENCE   MARCH  2017 NOVEMBER   016 be developed and livelihood activities could be The Way Forward appropriately sited. Forests should be an integral part of the Philippines’s r e s i l i e n c e s t r a t e g y. T h e f o l l o w i n g p o l i c y • Increase the income derived from forest recommendations are focused on developing a forest resources, especially for poor upland landscape that can boost the resilience of local communities. communities vulnerable to climate change. ! Options for improving the livelihoods of poor upland communities should consider improving • Incorporate ecosystem service modeling and forest resources and adding economic value to valuation, forest use analysis and scenarios in forest resources. The use of scenarios and trade- forest land use planning (FLUP), and forest off analyses can helpful for determining these management. options. For example, scenarios developed for the A practical application of these tools is the UMRBPL showed that promoting strict targeting of potential areas for tree plantations, conservation of forests can improve the level of agroforestry, and enrichment planting of protected ecosystem services provided to poor forest- areas. A better understanding the value of the dwellers, but restricted access to the forest forest and forestland assets and ecological reduces their income earning opportunities from services can help inform the revision of prices for forests. The valuation results from this study can permits for forest resources, including for water help build the attractiveness of forests for extraction. investors. Options include: • Use ecosystem service indicators for 1. Increasing the value of forest resources (non- timber forest products, fruits, and other forest monitoring the performance of FLUPs and foods) by transforming these products through assessing the outcome of the NGP. value addition, thus making non-timber forests Establishing ecosystem service targets could an asset to poverty reduction. enhance the monitoring of the impact of forest development on erosion reduction, landslide 2. Developing community-managed woodlots and plantations that can facilitate the legal reduction, and water provisioning. harvesting of wood for household consumption to meet energy needs, and provide a • Incorporate the Forest-Poverty Linkages toolkit sustainable supply of wood for income- for deepening analysis and undertaking site- generating activities. specific analysis of how forest-dwelling 3. Creating a market for forest services. communities use the forest. Forest use analysis can be used to deepen 4. Tapping the support of the Department of knowledge of how people use and access the Agriculture and Department of Agrarian Reform, forest based on qualitative and quantitative site- is critical to the commercialization and value addition of forest commodities. specific data, so that appropriate forest types can Develop a research agenda for forest For more information, please contact: ecosystem services The SECRETARIAT Development of a research agenda for forest Forest Management Bureau ecosystem services (FES) may be a useful start to Visayas Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 institutionalizing and formulating a coordinated Philippines effort for data collection, data sharing and analysis. +632 920 8650 | +632 920 0368 The Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau of the Department of Environment and fppkmd.fmb@gmail.com N a t u r a l R e s o u rc e s c o u l d b e a s t r a t e g i c http://forestry.denr.gov.ph/profor/update.php clearinghouse for FES information that can be used www.profor.info to support planning and decision-making on forest and landscapes. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material in this brief for commercial purposes is prohibited without permission of the copyright holders. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent or the donors of Program on Forests (PROFOR). Financial support for this work was provided by the PROFOR. A multidonor partnership housed at the World Bank, PROFOR finances forest-related analysis and processes that support improving people’s livelihoods through better management of forests and trees, enhancing forest law enforcement and governance, financing sustainable forest management, and coordinating forest policy across sectors. 4