Economic Growth and Watershed Management: Drivers of Research and Development Innovations

The Municipality of Lantapan is wholly contained in the Manupali Watershed, Bukidnon
province, in the Southern Philippines. Lantapan’s economy, landscape, and political
environment exemplified tensions between rapid population growth, economic changes, and environmental stress. Recent growth in agribusiness spurred changes in landuse and economic and social structures. This paper discusses the research innovations and lessons learnt from the World Agroforestry Centre’s (ICRAF) collaboration in the Manupali watershed. Initially, ICRAF’s study focused on assembling the elements of a realistic bufferzone management of Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park (MKRNP) on the northern border of Lantapan. Agroforestry intensification and community-endorsed social contract were important elements of effective bufferzone management. The Landcare approach, which centres on formation of landcare groups, was used to rapidly disseminate agroforestry and conservation farming technologies, with apparent success. 18 % of farming households adopted conservation technologies, covering 17% of cultivated lands and 23% of critical areas of the watershed. However, landcare groups backslide a year after it started due to availability of off-farm employment in the agribusiness sector and the ambivalent support of the municipal government, which encouraged the proliferation of agribusiness to boost the rural economy. To address this dramatic change in farmer decisions and local government priorities, ICRAF refocused its research activities on multiple functions of trees, environmental services, and policy innovations. The lesson learned is that economic growth and watershed management goals are key drivers to Research and Development (R&D) innovations. Rooted in adaptive management, R&D organizations must learn and adapt their programs to local needs