The Future of CBNRM in the Philippines: The Impact and Challenge of Global Change on Philippine Natural Resources Policy

Abstract

"In the Philippines, CBNRM has come to stay. Or has it? It is certainly enshrined as a central principle in natural resources policy and has become accepted as a major strategy in the countrys management of its natural resources and environment. It has powerful political constituencies behind it and attempts to overturn or reverse this trend, in recent years, have not been successful. But there are problems in both policy formulation and implementation and as a consequence, there is a gap between policy and reality. While these problems are rooted in the countrys political economy and history as well as the limits imposed by bureaucratic and governance constraints, global economic, environmental and technological change may further aggravate this gap.

"This paper probes this question further and looks at the impact and challenge posed by global trends to the future of CBNRM in the Philippines. In particular, we look at the specific issues-global economic integration, climate change, and modern biotechnology-and ask the following questions: (1) How and to what extent do these global trends undermine the effort to implement CBNRM? (2) Conversely, what opportunities do these global issues provide to further promote and operationalize CBNRM? In asking these questions, we do not begin with a belief that CBNRM by itself can be sufficient to deal with all the challenges posed by global change or that it is a 'catch all' solution to the negative consequences of globalization. We think, however, that CBNRM, at least in the area of natural resources, offers the Philippines urgently needed political and legal space to be innovative in dealing with global challenges. At the very least, CBNRM can be utilized as a 'safety net' to minimize the threats posed and maximize the opportunities provided by these challenges."