Biodiversity Conservation Network
14. Jelly and Other NTFPs from the Forests of the Kalahan Reserve
Location: Kalahan Reserve, Nueva Vizcaya, Luzon, Philippines Partners: Kalahan Education Foundation (KEF)
Nueva Vizcaya State Institute of Technology (NVSIT)
University of the Philippines, Los Baños
Upland NGO Assistance CommunityProject Title: Forest Farms Development Project BCN Funding: $321,190 Partner Contribution: $94,936 Grant Period: March 1, 1994 - February 28, 1997
Project Overview
The primary and secondary forests in the Kalahan Reserve, in Nueva Vizcaya, Luzon, support diverse plant and animal species as well as approximately 550 Ikalahan families that live within the reserve. The resources of the reserve, which covers 14,730 hectares of ancestral land, are managed by the indigenous people under an agreement with the Philippine Government. Compared to other localities, these resources are well managed. Nevertheless, there are still threats from road building, expropriation of land by commercial developers, and overharvesting of certain nontimber forest products.To meet these threats, KEF, a local NGO formed by the Ikalahan Tribe, is implementing an integrated program of community forest management and NTFP extraction. Enterprise activities include the production of jams and jellies from forest fruits, extraction of essential oils, collection and cultivation of flowers and mushrooms, and the manufacture of furniture. In addition, local communities are undertaking timber stand improvement in a small percentage of the secondary growth forest. KEF is thus diversifying the community's economic base by adding value to the resources and developing alternative marketing channels for these products. The project site is formally recognized by the government of the Philippines, and the project is an important step in building the case for the local management of these resources. KEF and the Ikalahan people are also developing monitoring and evaluation systems to document the status of the biological resource within the reserve and then assess the impact of the proposed economic activities on these resources over time.
1996 Accomplishments
The new Hibiscus jelly is selling very well. The new labels and news stories about our Mountain Fresh products have both helped to increase sales. This forces the processing staff to work two shifts during the fruiting season to ensure adequate raw materials to meet next year's demand. They now work two shifts and have successfully established a system for harvesters to schedule deliveries so that the Center is not inundated suddenly with so much fruit that they cannot process it quickly. The number of involved families and the extent of their involvement have both increased.The orchid specialist has finally begun producing, young orchids to turnover to other staff members to raise. He has lost some time and seeds in the experimental process, but has finally overcome contamination problems that are only natural for a new program. The bio-diversity analysis of the local fauna is moving very rapidly. The analysis of the impact on other flora is proceeding. So far the impact still seems benign -- population structures for some of the other tree species also have been done with interesting results.
Success Stories
About 30 Ikalahan leaders: men, women, youth and senior citizens gathered recently for a day and a half to analyze the "food web" in their community. None of them, even their facilitators had ever done such a thing before, but they were all interested in seeing what the result would be. While the incessant rain clattered on the iron roof, the four groups filled huge sheets of paper with a network of lines showing "what-eats-what." Some started with the fly-frog-kingfisher-hawk-eagle-human type system, but no matter where they started, each group eventually had to include all of the multitudes of plants, animals, and insects in their charts and realized that there were still more things involved than they had recognized.When they finished that assignment, they charted where the waste from every part of their system goes. There is no such thing as "garbage" in a forest, they discovered, because everything is food for something. By this time they had gotten so interested that they had no trouble adding purely symbiotic relationships to their charts. The charts were then so cluttered with lines that they set them aside to answer the question "What are your problems with the environment?" One of the first problems was the lack of water in their springs. Their charts exposed several species of wild figs that are known to improve the watershed. Then someone noticed that several species of bats regularly pollinate and plant those figs through their feces. Then another exclaimed, "If we protect those bats, they will plant the forest full of fig trees and we will soon have a better water supply!" He had made the jump from merely seeing a single problem to tracing its roots through the environment and finding a natural solution.
"I thought we came here to hear a lecture," Bugtong said at the end of the workshop, "But, we did all the lecturing and we learned more than usual." This has been the experience of the participants in all of the several such workshops that have been held. The breakthrough in their understanding has given a tremendous boost to protecting the BIO-DlVERSITY and more important, a boost to their QUALITY OF LIFE.
Challenges
The inventory of faunal species within the Kalahan Reserve was interesting from the beginning, but became exciting when it was discovered that the Tarictic Hornbill, two woodpeckers, and two parrot species that were common within the Kalahan Reserve were on the IUCN's list of endangered species. Most live within or near the Sanctuary which was established a few years ago. Excited, the Ikalahan then invited three ornithologists to help them continue the identification work. During a three-day workshop, the ornithologists, foresters, and local leaders developed a list of more than 110 species of which 31 are on the endangered lists. The listing of the native flora is no less interesting.The challenge is now to continue improving the environment so that these species can continue to thrive. Plans have been developed and the congressman and mayor are helping although four other political leaders are unwisely pushing an ill-conceived plan to build an unnecessary highway through the middle of the Sanctuary. The people are using public information and political counter-pressure to fight off this serious threat.
 |
WHY BIODIVERSITY FIELD STORIES PARTICIPATE RESULTS MARKETSPACE ABOUT THE NETWORK WHAT'S NEW LEARNING MATERIALS SEARCH LINKS SITE MAP HOME |