UPLAND ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT
by Antonio C. Antonio
December 26, 2014
The four basic and fundamental principles of management ---
therefore, (1) planning, (2) organizing, (3) directing and (4) controlling ---
apply in most organized (or even individual) endeavours. Upland ecosystem management, however, has
additional peculiarities that also need to be considered. These are…
IDENTIFICATION OF LAND USE MANAGEMENT GOALS – The hardest
part in identifying the land use management goals is who will identify them. Participatory management will be the best
strategy in this case. Indigenous
knowledge plus production technologies should be the perfect combination in the
planning stage. The use of the land
could be translated into explicit objectives and directions. In the center of the plans and programs
should be the upland dwellers whose members are often referred to as “the
poorest of the poor”. Sustainable
development (described as the calibrated utilization of the same natural
resources between present and future generations) should also be the
centrepiece of such land use management goals.
IDENTIFICATION OF THE CAPABILITY OF THE LAND – An inventory
of available productive resources and the identification of constraints and
opportunities present in the resource environment are vital components in
determining the capability of the lands.
The limitation f the land is another important consideration in planning
land use management goals.
IDENTIFICATION OF AVAILABLE PRODUCTIVE RESOURCES – Identifying
the available productive resources is crucial in the sense that it focuses on
the productive capabilities of the land relative to the resources and potential
for growth and development. This
includes the management of the human-based inputs such as labor, capital and
technology. The main objective of this
task is to create a list of resources and the potentials of the land as well as
a management system for such so that the proponents can visualize the total
resource capability.
IDENTIFICATION OF CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES – In a SWOT
analysis, “opportunities” and “threats” are considered “external
environments”. Threats and opportunities
must also be inventoried, not only the “strengths” and “weaknesses”. Knowledge of the economic environment will
give planners a better view of the financials (capital and credit) and
market. The social and political
environments must also be identified and studied so that they do not become
impediments in the realization of the set goals. A working knowledge of the indigenous and
technical environments is also a must established to blend traditional with
modern worldviews. The biological
environment also needs to be seriously considered as ecological concerns are
also paramount. Pursuing management
goals are best anticipated by determining the total resource environment.
IDENTIFICATION OF THE VARIOUS OUTPUTS – Identifying the
various goods and services (outputs) relative to the cost and, more
importantly, the environmental stress (degradation, soil erosion, etc.) must also
be identified. Again, it is important to
look at the “sustainability” of such environmental intrusion. Sustainable Management is the utilization of
resources by the present generation while leaving the same amount of resources
for the productive use of the next generations.
The identification of the optimal mix of goods and services is largely
an economic problem whose solutions may be mathematical in nature. Operations research tools are usually used in
this task. An analysis must be performed
to determine the economic feasibility and ecological soundness of the land use
management strategy.
MONITORING AND EVALUTION – Oversight functions should be an
integral part of any management strategy.
This will allow for re-direction and recalibration of the entire program
to attain optimum level of success.
All these, plus a few others you may know, are the peculiar
additions to accepted management systems which apply to upland ecosystem
management.
Just my little
thoughts…
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