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Assessment of the indigenous forest management system of the Iturkaw in Tulgao, Tinglayan, Kalinga, Philippines
Dissertation Abstract:
This dissertation dwelt on a heretofore little known set of indigenous forest management systems practiced by the Iturkaw people of Tulgao, Tinglayan, Kalinga in northern Philippines. The study had four components, namely: (1) description of the socioeconomic characteristics of the Iturkaw and the biophysical characteristics of their ancestral domain; (2) description of the Iturkaw indigenous forest management system; (3) assessment of Iturkaw beliefs, customary laws, and practices; and (4) assessment of the Iturkaw people’s and non-community members’ perspectives on the indicators of sustainable forest management.
The Iturkaw live in an ancestral domain that has an elevation of up to 2,525 masl with slopes of 30 percent that have rugged relief with fertile soil, a number of clear rivers, and an average of 85.05 Mg/ha of carbon stock in forests. Their main sources of living are rice terrace farming and swidden farming, but a number are also engaged in gathering non-timber forest products, particularly bamboo and rattan.
From their ancestors, the Iturkaw have inherited and continue to practice indigenous forest management systems such as the pinawa, kiruwhat, and imong that fulfill their needs. They have a wide range of worldviews, beliefs systems, customary laws, and homegrown policies related to resource utilization, all of which contribute to the sustainability of their natural resources, particularly forests, wildlife, and water.
Through focus group discussion and guided interviews, the study’s respondents have identified simple and easily understood 15 biophysical and 14 socioeconomic indicators to measure the sustainability of their indigenous forest management systems. They also identified and developed a scoring system for the existing condition of their indicators. Of the 20 indicators they selected for scoring, 14 were rated as good, six were rated as fair, and the overall rating was good. This means tha the existing conditions based on the indicators of indigenous forest management in Tulgao is sustainable.
The Iturkaw are proud that even in this age of technological advancement their traditional knowledge is now slowly being recognized as substantially important. Based on the study’s findings, a number of recommendations were made on how to sustain and build upon the Iturkaw’s indigenous forest management systems for the benefit of local and downstream communities as well as to address the forest and climate change concerns of the Philippines.