Local Government Unit of the Municipality of Pilar

Pilar, Filipinas

An Overview Of Our Solution

In the island municipality of Pilar, people source water for domestic and agricultural use from production springs located in the municipal watershed. However, as forest cover in the watershed decreased due to improper farm practices and land use, water production also decreased. Thus, the local government partnered with Visayas State University in 2009 and the latter introduced Rainforestation Farming, a sustainable farming system used as a strategy for forest restoration using native tree species in combination with agricultural crops. Since the introduction of Rainforestation Farming in Pilar, a Rainforestation tree nursery and many demonstration plots have been established throughout the island and it has been adopted by farmer cooperators in the implementation of forest restoration projects.

Who is this solution impacting?

Community Type

Rural

Organization type

Governo

Ecosystem (select all that apply)

Grasslands

Population impacted

11,000

Size of agricultural area

1,543 ha

Production quantity

1,385 metric tons per year

People employed

Describe your solution

Rainforestation Farming is a sustainable farming system used as a strategy for forest restoration using native or indigenous tree species in combination with agricultural crops. It is farming system that closely resembles the structure of a natural Philippine rainforest ecosystem or home gardens that promotes the use of native or local trees commonly growing in the area. It also considers farming systems to support livelihood of farmer cooperators.The “rainforestation farming” technology was chosen and developed under the assumption that a farming-system in the humid tropics becomes increasingly more sustainable the nearer it is in its species composition and physical structure to the local rainforest ecosystem. It was developed by Dr. Joseph Margraf and Dr. Paciencia Milan at the Visayas State University, Baybay City, Philippines.

Describe your implementation

Promotion of rainforestation farming in Pilar was initiated by two youth groups, one based in Visayas State University named TARSIER and the other based in Pilar, the Sangguniang Kabataan of the village of Villahermosa. The first activity was a rainforestation training participated by farmers, wherein they were taught how to prepare native tree seedlings. It was followed by the organisation of the Can-ugkay Rainforestation Farmers Association (CARFA) and the establishment of a native tree nursery. Other activities that contributed to the success of the program was the training of two rainforestation trainers by VSU and ELTI, formulation of a Municipal Resolution to adopt rainforestation as the strategy to use in the rehabilitation of the municipality's watershed, and the Memorandum of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that lead to the use of rainforestation farming in the implementation of the National Greening Program by a community-based organisation named NAKASE.

External connections

1. Visayas State University's Institute of Tropical Ecology and Environmental Management (VSU-ITEEM) 2. Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative (ELTI) of Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?

In the municipality’s proposed Comprehensive Land Use Plan, the dominant land use is forestland (36.40%) including 1,130 hectares (29.92%) allotted for agro-forest development and 244.64 hectares (6.48%) for forest reserve, out of a total land area of 3,776.0 hectares. But attempts at reforestation resulted only in a few pocket forests; which are too small to make a significant effect on water availability. Majority of these are planted with exotic species, while native tree species are becoming very rare. The Philippine’s tropical forests hold many tree species that serve a variety of functions, the most important of which is keeping the watershed intact. Current tree planting efforts that use “fast-growing” trees that are alien to the original forest are putting native tree species at a disadvantage. The resulting mono-culture of trees is more vulnerable to insect attacks and diseases, and also causes nutrient imbalances in the soil that affect other plants.

Describe the context in which you are operating

In the municipality’s proposed Comprehensive Land Use Plan, the dominant land use classification is forestland (36.40%). It includes 1,130 hectares (29.92%) allotted for agro-forest development and 244.64 hectares (6.48%) for forest reserve, out of a total land area of 3,776.0 hectares. Attempts at reforestation and tree planting activities resulted only in a few pocket forests; which are too small to make a significant effect on water availability. Majority of these pocket forests were planted with exotic species such as gmelina sp., while native tree species have become very rare. Philippine tropical forests hold many tree species that serve a variety of functions, the most important of which is keeping the watershed intact. Current tree planting efforts that use “fast-growing” trees that are alien to the original forest are putting native tree species at a disadvantage. The resulting mono-culture of trees is more vulnerable to insect attacks and diseases, and caused nutrient imbalances in the soil that affected other plants. Income from the mono-culture of exotic species did not reach the farmers' expectations.

How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?

1. Improvement of soil chemical properties; 2. Improvement of soil structure and water holding capacity; 3. Improvement of soil organic matter and soil color; 4. Improvement of nutrient status; 5. Improvement of biological activity; and 6. Improvement of microclimate

Language(s)

Which language(s) are spoken in the area where your solution is implemented? Cebuano, Filipino and English

Water

No observable effects yet.

Food Security/Nutrition

Improved farmers income resulting to better nutrition for family members.

Economic/Sustainable Development

Results of studies conducted at the Visayas State University showed higher income of farmer cooperators.

Climate

Results of studies conducted at the Visayas State University showed decrease in temperature in the vicinity of the rainforestation farms.

Sustainability

The early stage of rainforestation farming in Pilar, including partnership development, capacity building and organisation of farmer cooperators required grant funding from the local government and from non-government organisations. But subsequent activities including farm development and management were already funded by individual farmer cooperators or by farmer organisations, partly by the income from fruits and vegetables harvested from the farm.

Return on investment

The local government allocated US$2,000 annually to fund the promotion of rainforestation farming but it does not include the salary of staff who also work on other agriculture related tasks.

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How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?

Rainforestation farming can be replicated in other tropical areas where rain forests thrive; where people live in areas that are supposed to be forested; and where local government is convinced of rainforestation farming's effectiveness.

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Stories of Change from Rainforestation Farming

Overview