Local People’s Participation in Mangrove Restoration Projects and Impacts on Social Capital and Livelihood: A Case Study in the Philippines

Abstract

Participatory forest management has been considered as a practical and effective strategy for sustainable forest management, especially in situations where land tenure is not securely settled. For effective forest restoration, local communities, as the cornerstone of participatory management, should be provided with incentives to facilitate their participation and active role. We postulate that participation in mangrove restoration projects can not only provide financial rewards but also yield intangible benefits for communities, i.e., social capital. The study was conducted in the province of Quezon, Philippines, using face-to-face interviews as the main method for data collection. Regression analyses were undertaken to assess the impact of local community participation in mangrove restoration projects on social capital and its potential benefits to people in terms of access to information and services, which are key components of livelihood. Results revealed that people’s participation in mangrove restoration projects contributes to increasing social capital, consequently improving their access to information and services. Local people’s participation is beneficial to communities, as it can improve their livelihoods.

To Plant or Not to Plant, That Is the Question: Reforestation vs. Natural Regeneration of Hurricane-Disturbed Mangrove Forests in Guanaja (Honduras)

“…In this respect, mangrove forests do not behave differently from other tropical forests, where natural regeneration has been found to be ecologically superior to active restoration from both economic (low cost vs. high cost) and ecological perspectives (ecosystem functioning and services, structural heterogeneity, species richness, growth rates, litterfall) [84]. In addition, major challenges for mangrove restoration can emanate from the poor consensus of the local people concerning the restoration goals and a lack of confidence between the actors involved, potentially leading to social opposition even before restoration measures are actually implemented [82,85,86]. This can be easily avoided by allowing disturbed sites to regenerate naturally.…”

“…Despite these shortcomings, there is nevertheless one tremendous benefit of reforestation campaigns if local people are involved: the chance to raise awareness about the value of mangroves. Participation of the general public in mangrove restoration projects not only helps to restore disturbed mangrove forests and reinstate important ecosystem services but also bolsters the social capital of communities [82].…”

Getting the message right on nature‐based solutions to climate change

“…NbS can also reduce the degree to which individuals, communities and societies are actually affected by the climate impacts they experience, that is, their social sensitivity (e.g. Valenzuela et al, 2020). In particular, NbS secure the delivery of a wide range of benefits that sustain diverse sources of food and income, which can provide nutritional and financial security when crops or usual sources of income fail in the face of climate extremes (Ahammad et al, 2013; Seddon, Chausson, et al, 2020; Waldron et al, 2017).…”

“…For example, community‐based forest management can build social cohesion and empowers women by providing them with natural resource management training, thus increasing participation in creating adaptation strategies (Lin et al, 2019). These benefits to social capital can feed back into improved and sustained stewardship of the ecosystem to ensure the continued supply of nature's benefits (Valenzuela et al, 2020). For additional examples of how NbS can reduce vulnerability to climate change, see Seddon, Chausson, et al (2020).…”

Impact of Collaborative Forest Management on Rural Livelihood: A Case Study of Maple Sap Collecting Households in South Korea

“…Moreover, in the Philippines, CFM participating household groups had moderate resilience while non-CFM participating household groups had weak resilience in terms of resilience measured by the integrated indicator of socio-cultural capital, natural capital and economic capital [9]. CFM can provide financial rewards and yield intangible benefits for communities (i.e., social capital), as seen in two communities of Quezon Province of the Philippines [10].…”