Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan

PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK YOUR PLAN

by Antonio C. Antonio

January 2, 2015

Planning is the process of making plans for a specific goal and objective.  While some think that there is not much difference between business planning and upland ecosystem management planning, there remains to be some unique and/or peculiar differences.  To highlight these differences, please allow me to detail some of the notable issues and concerns or steps and stages in upland ecosystem management planning…

Step 1: PRELIMINARY ORGANIZATION AND PLANNING – After the initial conceptualization of the upland ecosystem management project or program, the most important step is the preliminary organization and planning stage.  In this step, preliminary issues, the preliminary planning area, and priorities for the next step for the next larger area, the stakeholders, and commitments are identified.  The organization of the planning team and contact stakeholders who are to be involved are also identified and organized.

Step 2: PLAN INITIATION – Using the participatory approach, the identification and selection of participants is made in this step.  Other tasks in this step are to confirm the issues and planning area, determine the budgetary requirement and schedule for the planning activities.  The statement of principles, systems and procedures, processes and the expected product and results are also identified.

Step 3: INFORMATION ASSEMBLY – In this step, the following should be identified and made: (1) Inventory of resources; (2) Analyses of resources; (3) Draw the linkages to other land uses; (4) Define unit boundaries; and, (5) Determine problems and opportunities… a SWOT analysis of the project or program.

Step 4: FORMULATING MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES – With all the pertinent information and resources identified, formulating the management objectives and strategies will have to be made at this stage.

Step 5: SCENERIO DEVELOPMENT – Scenario development is nothing more than summarizing all alternative land and resource management objective and strategies based on environmental, economic and social situations.  Such scenarios will always have to be based on sustainable principles consistent with existing public policies.

Step 6: BUILDING AN AGREEMENT THROUGH CONSENSUS – Participatory management principles will again have to be adhered to in this step.  A majority of the stakeholders will have to agree to the upland ecosystem management plan while continuing communications with those who are not yet sure of their approval and/or totally disagree with project and program.  Goodwill, cooperation, communication and strong commitment to reaching a common ground will also be ideal.  All stakeholders should be treated as equals and even majority decisions must not be imposed on the minority.  Various techniques could be employed, including: (a) negotiation; (b) consultation; (c) compromise; (d) facilitation; and (e) fact-finding and mediation.

Step 7: APPROVAL – Ideally, approval of the final upland ecosystem management plan must be unanimous.  This will ensure smooth implementation which is the longer and larger portion of the entire project or program.

Step 8: IMPLEMENTATION – Implementation shall strictly follow pre-planned systems, processes and procedures.

Step 9: MONITORING AND REVIEW – A review and monitoring system will firmly have to be in place.  This is the “red flag” system that will prevent the upland ecosystem management plan from veering towards total disaster.  This also conforms to ideal management principles.

Step 10: AMENDMENT AND RECALIBRATION – Equally important is the institutionalization of an oversight mechanism.  When deviations from the set upland ecosystem management plan are determined, corresponding amendments and recalibration of plans will have to be undertaken.

Upland ecosystem management planning, in plain and simple terms is nothing less than adhering to this old management planning adage that says: “Plan your work and work your plan.”

Just my little thoughts…

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Causes and Patterns of Upland Migration

CAUSES AND PATTERNS OF UPLAND MIGRATION

by Antonio C. Antonio

January 3, 2015

To the larger segment of the population living in the lowland, the upland is a “land of uncertainty”.  The uplands have always been viewed with much uneasiness because of the fact that the more modern amenities of life that are present in the urban and rural but flat areas are not present in the uplands.  But in spite of these uncertainties, a segment of the lowland population still entertains interest in migrating to the uplands.  The question that comes to our minds is “why” and “what”… “Why would people want to do that? and What are the causes of upland migration?”

The most common reasons and causes for upland migration are:

1. POVERTY – This is the overriding reason.  Poverty-stricken lowlanders will more often speculate and opt to migrate to the uplands where there is a chance for them to survive and live.
2. LACK OR LIMITED EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES – Those who deem themselves unable to cope with the steep competition for jobs and employment will, more likely, choose to take chances in the uplands.
3. LIMITED ACCESS TO LAND – Urban and rural poor (not necessarily upland dwellers) normally live in makeshift homes without the benefit of decent amenities or access to utilities.  If their homes are assemblages of thrown-away materials, the cost of land and landownership are issues and concerns that are unreachable to them.  The next best thing to do is consider migrating to the uplands.
4. RESETTLEMENT PROGRAMS – Communities of informal settlers are more often resettled in upland areas.  Rather than get nothing at all after they are ejected, they normally accept offers for resettlement (even) in upland areas. 

What then are the usual patterns of upland migration?  It appears there are three patterns of upland migration, which are:

FIRST:  The head of the family, usually the father, goes to the target area to test the conditions in the uplands.  If the conditions are favourable, the rest of the family follows.

SECOND:  The entire family goes and settles in the area even if they do not know what awaits them.

THIRD:  This involves lowlanders moving to the uplands just to plant crops or utilize resources available there.  In this case, they actually do not live there and cannot be considered real immigrants.

These migration patterns plus the normal increase in population of (original) upland dwellers has been (and still will be) exerting continuous pressure on the available resources in the uplands.

These are the causes and patterns of upland migration.

Just my little thoughts…

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Biophysical Characteristics of the Uplands

BIOPHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UPLANDS

by Antonio C. Antonio

December 31, 2014

The standard criterion in classifying areas as “upland” is the slope… land areas with a slope greater than 18% is considered uplands.  Other than this criterion, it is generally hard to describe uplands since their biophysical characteristics are quite varied in terms of climate, topography, soils and vegetation.

CLIMATE – It is very important to know the climactic condition in a particular upland area in the archipelago.  This will be an indispensable tool and knowledge in upland management.  Based on the distribution of rainfall, there are four climate types in the Philippine uplands. Climactic Type I has two pronounced seasons; the dry season (November to April) and the wet season (May to October).  Climactic Type II has no pronounced dry season but has a very pronounced wet season (November to January). Climactic Type III where either dry or wet seasons are not pronounced although it’s relatively dry from November to April and wet the rest of the year.  Climactic Type IV is characterised by evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year.

TOPOGRAPHY AND SOIL – Areas with elevation greater than 60 meters and lands with slopes greater than 50% are considered uplands which include mild, moderate and steep slopes and even plateaus.  32% or roughly 9.6 million hectares of the total land area in the Philippines have acidic soil (phosphorous, potassium, calcium and magnesium) as well as toxic levels of exchangeable aluminium and manganese… therefore, have severe nutrient limitations that radically diminishes their productivity.  The main contributory factor to the low fertility of upland soil is high erosion rate.

HYDROLOGY – About 54% to 95% of the upland areas in the Philippines are rain-fed.  Western and Eastern Visayas, Northern and Western Mindanao, Ilocos, Southern Tagalog and Bicol Region have the highest proportions of these rain-fed areas.  However, we also have several upland areas which are considered hydrologically impaired which are caused primarily by reforestation.  When the soil has low infiltration capacity, soil erosion becomes a big problem.  In general, the water supply in the Philippine upland has deteriorated in terms of quality and quantity.  It is also largely believed that lowland flooding can be attributed to deforestation and the low absorption capacity of the uplands.

FLORA AND FAUNA – The Philippines is considered a megadiversity where a lot of endemic plant and animal species can be found.  This, however, has been threatened by human activities and intervention in the uplands.  Poorly planned land use conversions wiped-out tree and plant species and numerous species of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles are considered rare but threatened and endangered.

In a nutshell, these are the biophysical characteristics of the uplands.

Just my little thoughts…

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The Benefits of Participatory Upland Management

THE BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATORY UPLAND MANAGEMENT

by Antonio C. Antonio

December 30, 2014

“The participatory management approach could be considered a management tool that aims to involve all employees of a business enterprise in the decision-making process.  Although the ultimate decision-makers are still the senior management officers, inputs from the rank and file and middle management officers are gathered and considered prior to making major policy, administrative and operations decisions.  More often than not, these inputs form the basis for such decisions.  Participatory management aims to empower employees on issues and concerns since they (being members of the organization) are the primary beneficiaries of such decisions.” (Antonio, 2014)  This may apply to a business organization but may not apply to upland management.  It is important to realize that there are more stakeholders in the upland environment than just a simple employer-employee relationship.

Participation in upland management means that stakeholders not only provide labor and materials and accept responsibility for the management of the land.  All stakeholders are also expected to get involved in decision-making, implementation and monitoring of related activities.  In so doing, they should be able to formulate ideal strategies for the protection, conservation and sustainable utilization of upland resources.  The benefits of participatory upland management are: 

1. EFFECTIVENESS because upland participatory management allows people to have a voice in determining objectives and purposes; supporting project administration and operations and making their local (including indigenous) knowledge, skills and resources available, thereby resulting to more effective and successful projects.
2. EFFICIENCY because upland participatory management allows more efficient use of resources (on-site and external) available to the project.
3. EMPOWERMENT because upland participatory management increases the stakeholders’ sense of control over issues and concerns that affect their lives and helps them to learn how to plan, implement, and prepare themselves for participation in broader terms.
4. EQUITY because upland participatory management guarantees and ensures an equitable sharing of the benefits from the land.

Those already mentioned plus other you may want to add are the benefits of participatory upland management.

Just my little thoughts…

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Reasons Why the Uplands Should be Our Primary Concern

REASONS WHY THE UPLANDS SHOULD BE OUR PRIMARY CONCERN

by Antonio C. Antonio

December 28, 2014

Why should the uplands be a primary concern of every Filipino?  There are three important reasons…

1. Land is scarce.  In fact, land is the most limited resource in most, if not all, parts of the world;
2. Lowlands are under extreme pressure for living space, food production, industries and other issues; and,
3. Activities in the lowlands will eventually “move” to the uplands.  In fact, many of them are already in the uplands.

Man has unlimited expectation from nature and his environment.  Although the three stated reasons are economic in nature, they are extremely important as they pertain to the allocation of upland resources (good and services).  And man has always depended on nature for his development, survival and existence.

The upland is a fragile ecosystem that will certainly not survive too much anthropogenic intervention.  And these are the reasons why the uplands should be our primary concern.

Just my little thoughts…

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Categories and Management Objectives of Protected Areas

CATEGORIES AND MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES OF PROTECTED AREAS

by Antonio C. Antonio

January 1, 2015

In order to set the parameters in monitoring protected areas all over the world, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) came up with a system of classifying them.  The IUCN is now popularly called the World Conservation Union which is the umbrella organization of conservation agencies and institutions.

In 1978, the IUCN, through the IUCN General Assembly, developed and ratified a system of categories and management objectives of protected areas which encompassed a wide range of protected/conservation areas.  These categories are as follows:

Category I: Strict Nature Reserve and Scientific Reserve – To protect nature and maintain natural processes in an undisturbed state in order to have ecologically representative examples of the natural environment available for scientific study, environmental monitoring, education, and for the maintenance of genetic resources in a dynamic and evolutionary state.

Category II: National Park – To protect outstanding natural and scenic areas of national and international significance for scientific, educational and recreational use.  These are relatively large natural areas and materially altered by human activity where extractive resource uses are not allowed.

Category III: Natural Monument and Natural Landmark – To protect and preserve nationally significant natural features because of their special interest or unique characteristics.  These are relatively small areas focused on protection of specific features.

Category IV: Managed Nature Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary – To assure the natural conditions necessary to protect nationally significant species, groups of species, biotic communities, or physical features of the environment where these may require specific human manipulation for their perpetuation.  Controlled harvesting of some resources can be permitted.

Category V: Protected Landscape and Seascapes – To maintain nationally significant natural landscapes which are characteristic of the harmonious interaction of man and land while providing opportunities for public enjoyment through recreation and tourism within the normal life cycle and economic activity of those areas.  These are mixed cultural/natural landscapes of high scenic value where traditional land uses are maintained.

Category VI: Resource Reserve – To protect the natural resources of the area for future use and prevent or contain development activities that could affect the resource pending the establishment of objectives which are based upon appropriate knowledge and planning.  This is a holding category used until a permanent classification can be determined.

Category VII: Anthropological Reserve – To allow the way of life of societies living in harmony with the environment to continue undisturbed by modern technology.  This category is appropriate where resource extraction by indigenous people is conducted in a traditional manner.

Category VIII: Multiple Use Management Area and Managed Resource Area – To provide for the sustained production of water, timber, wildlife, pasture and tourism, with the conservation of the nature primarily oriented to the support of economic activities (although specific zones may also be designated within these areas to achieve specific conservation objectives).

Category IX: Biosphere Reserve – To conserve for present and future use the diversity and integrity of the biotic communities of plants and animals within natural ecosystems, and to safeguard the genetic diversity of species on which their continuing evolution depends.  These are internationally designated sites managed for research, education and training.

Category X:  World Heritage Site – To protect the natural features for which the area is considered to be of outstanding universal significance.  This is a select list of the world’s unique natural and cultural sites nominated by countries that are party to the World Heritage Convention.

These categories are important to know so we have a good idea why specific sites are designated and declared as protected/conservation areas… these are the categories and management objectives of protected areas.

Just my little thoughts…

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Components of Sustainable Upland Ecosystem Management

COMPONENTS OF SUSTAINABLE UPLAND ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT

by Antonio C. Antonio

December 24, 2014

Sustainable upland ecosystem management can only be possible if the three components are present.  These are:

ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY – Utilization and development of natural resources should be undertaken in a manner that is compatible with the maintenance and enhancement of essential ecological processes, biological diversity and the natural resources base.  Thus all technologies and production processes used should have a beneficial rather than adverse environmental impact (DENR-FMB, 1998).

SOCIO-CULTURAL AND INSTITUTIONAL SUSTAINABILITY – Utilization and development of resources should be undertaken in a manner that will increase people’s control over their lives, is compatible with the culture and values of the people affected by it, maintains and strengthens community identity and ensures that the cost and benefits are shared equitably between and within communities and individual households.  In addition, community-based organizations, NGOs, LGUs and national institutions responsible for conducting and supporting the planning, implementation and monitoring of natural resource management activities should have the capability (financial and skilled human resources) to sustain the delivery of services required (DENR-FMB, 1998).

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY – Utilization and development of natural resources should be undertaken in a manner that is economically efficient (therefore, the benefits are commensurate with the costs).  Resources should be used and managed in a way that will retain their potential to support future generations.  This also means optimizing both tangible and intangible economic benefits for the greatest possible number of people while ensuring, as far as the needs for sustainability of the natural resources permit, that no one suffers economic hardship (DENR-FMB, 1988).

There are still other relatively minor components that need to be considered but these are the three more important components of sustainable upland ecosystem management.

Just my little thoughts…

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