Contribution of Forestry to Poverty Alleviation - APFNet

eduction in the log supply contract to three years instead of five years, as the approval of their IFMA
as the company’s TLA is already expiring.
The Manobos have their issues about the company, some of which are delay in payment of their salaries,
non-remittance to the Social Security System, bulldozing by the company of their burial grounds,
harvesting by the company of falcata trees owned by the community within their kaingin/ ISF area, the
non-fulfillment by the company of its promise to relocate and construction of their houses affected by
TLA operations, along with many other unfulfilled promises. There are sentiments among the Manobos
against the continued operation of SUDECOR in their ancestral domain area.
Agusan Marsh (PES Initiative)
According to the staff of the Protected Area and Wildlife Sanctuary of DENR-CARAGA, Agusan
Marsh is a protected site that covers an area of 40,954 ha and was given Ramsar site status in 1999. It is
a vast complex of freshwater marshes and watercourses with four big lakes and numerous small shallow
lakes and ponds in the upper basin of the Agusan River and its tributaries. Some parts of the marsh
are used for traditional fish ponds and rice paddies. The site acts as storage for rain water and reduces
the immediate downstream flow of floodwater into Butuan City. The Marsh is an important habitat
for water birds such wild ducks, herons, and egrets. It is also the refuge of the rare Oriental Darter
(Anhinga melanogaster) and Purple Swamp Hen (Porphyrio porphyrio) and the threatened Philippine
Hawk Eagle, Spotted Imperial Pigeon and Rufous-lored Kingfisher, among others.
Miranda (2011, personal communication) points out that the major livelihood of households around the
big lakes is fishing where 80% is involved. Around 50% are engaged in farming while around 15-20%
are partially dependent on forest products.
Among the common forest products used
are bamboo, lanipao (Terminalia sp) and
bangkal (Rubiaceae sp).
Charcoal making is a short-term source of cash; however,
unsustainable charcoal production will deplete their wood
sources.
286
Pedro Walpole
Some indigenous people and local
communities in Agusan Marsh are
engaged in ecotourism by providing
accommodation, food and guided tours
for groups of tourists, selling of souvenir
items, and renting out of vests, binoculars,
and fees for camping and birding. The POs
in the area also have established a tourist
center on one of the lakes. The ecotourism
provides sustainable income and revenue
for the communities. Incidentally, Agusan
Marsh was established as a Wildlife
Sanctuary in 1996 through Presidential
Proclamation 913 and is now slowly
transforming into a PES site initially by
virtue of PAMB resolution No. 1 in 1995
when they started charging user fees. They
started charging entrance fees with the
following rates: US$ 2 each for foreigners,
PhP 25 for local tourists, and PhP 10 for
students. With these rates, the Marsh was
able to generate a meager average income
of only PhP 2,500 per year.
In 2010, it was able to generate around
PhP 6,000, a fairly good increase from the