Udhai Chanphaka
Watershed Management Division
Royal Forest Department
Bangkok 10900 Thailand
Degradation of watersheds in developing countries is often associated with shifting cultivation. Solving such problems may look easy to outsiders, but it is most difficult for those in the field. It involves the conservation of natural resources and the environment on one hand, and on the other hand it involves socio-economic conditions, including the political status of the country.
It would be easier if the shifting cultivators were native villagers who are citizens of the country. But there are cases, like in Thailand, where shifting cultivators come from different hilltribes, some who have been living in the country for a long time, and some are recent migrants from surrounding countries. The hilltribes speak their own dialect, live their own way of life and have different methods of shifting cultivation. Consequently, the recovery periods differ in each area (e.g., in the Meo's method of cultivation, the recovery of trees is very rare and the land is covered by Imperata grass and/or Elephant grass; in the case of Lua's territory, native tree species regenerate in 2-3 years after abandonment).
This paper will elucidate approaches to watershed management in areas of shifting cultivation in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Hilltribes living in mountain areas, particularly over 600 m (msl) to 2,000 m, are creating serious problems with their shifting cultivation. The average density of the population is about 31 persons/km . In 1963 the Public Welfare Department set up a Hilltribe Research Center and Hilltribe Settlement Projects in northern Thailand. After almost 20 years, the Hilltribe Settlement project failed because of:
i) Inadequate support from the government,
ii) It is in the nature of the hilltribe not to stay in one area for a long period,
iii) The people are not considered Thai citizens, e.g., no tax payment, no I.D. card, etc.
iv) Political indifference from surrounding countries.
In 1965 the Royal Forest Department started a Watershed Management Programme through reforestation/rehabilitation in an old cultivated area. It was found that rehabilitation of damaged watersheds was not enough; something bad to be done with the people living in the watershed (hilltribes and native villagers). The idea was to work on individual watersheds one by one as an "Integrated Project."
1 Paper presented by Tage Michaelsen.
To comply with the governmental policy and the condition of the country, the integrated watershed management approach involved the following activities:
i) Watershed analysis, including the collection of basic data on natural resources, climatic conditions, standard of living, land use, fuelwood, water yield, infrastructure, and education.
ii) Land use planning and land capability classification.
iii) Resettelement of shifting cultivators after watershed analysis, land use planning and land capability classification. Shifting cultivators become stabilized in a suitable location by means of the "Hilltribe Village Project" or "Forest Village Project." All basic needs are provided including new housing, agricultural area, planting material, irrigation system, fertilizer, insecticide and fungicide, range land, fish pond, etc. Planting material consisted of food crops, cash crops, fruit crops, nut tree crops and tree crops. These must be planted according to land suitability and seasons required by particular crops.
iv) Reforestation in areas classified as watershed areas or where the soil is not suitable for agriculture. The native villagers and hilltribes can earn additional income through forestry activities including working in a planting unit of a reforestation programme.
v) Education for both adults and children within a watershed is provided at least up to the compulsory level. This is especially important in the case of the hilltribes because the government's policy wants them to acquire Thai nationality and for that they have to know Thai language. In the next 15 or 20 years all the hilltribe children will become Thai citizens, while the old generation, during the same period, will naturally pass away.
vi) The health of the villagers is well tended. Minor illness is attended by trained medical people, the serious cases are sent to the nearest hospital for treatment.
vii) Infrastructure such as roads from the villages to the highway or from village to village are constructed. This speeds up communication and transportation of agricultural products from the field to the market.
viii) Marketing approaches are handled by the extension officer. it must be ascertained what kind of crop is needed by both domestic and foreign markets before instruction is given to the villagers. The preservation of agricultural products is necessary where the agricultural area is far from the market or when the product is perishable, such as mushrooms, certain vegetables and fruit crops. Canning is necessary because products can be kept for a longer period and are easy to transport. Wood-based industries in the village are also encouraged such as furniture, charcoal, as well as plantations for small logs, pulp and paper, etc. According to the new Forest Law, the private sector can get a long term lease of a forest area to plant trees for commercial purposes. This is to encourage the private sector to pay more attention to tree planting programmes. In pine plantations tapping of oreo-resin for commercial purposes is also arranged for those who need additional income.
ix) Agroforestry practices are allowed within the reforestation area. Some of the crops planted in the agroforestry programme are rice, mung bean, strawberry, tea, coffee, sweet potato, cowpea, soybean and various fruit tree species.
x) institutional linkages. Under the integrated watershed management approach, implementation requires close cooperation and assistance of various government agencies such as:
- The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives
- The Ministry of Interior
- The Ministry of Education
- The Ministry of Health
- The Ministry of Commerce (for export of agricultural products).
Since the start of the integrated watershed management programme, the Royal Forest Department has made good progress concerning people's participation. Conflicts between forest land and agricultural land are becoming less. It is expected that this will continue to prove a good approach to watershed management in areas of shifting cultivation.
Efforts and activities to rehabilitate degraded lands in many densely populated watersheds and river basins of Indonesia, as in Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi, have been progressing steadily. A watershed management approach to the problems of land rehabilitation and population resettlement is necessary to solve the problems permanently. Various land uses in a watershed demand the cooperation and coordination of different agencies involved in programmes on conservation of soil and water to secure a sustained utilization of watershed resources.
The newly established Directorate of Soil Conservation under the Directorate General of Reforestation and Land Rehabilitation, Ministry of Forestry, will now be responsible for implementing the soil conservation programme in 35 existing watershed projects throughout Indonesia.
An overall approach to watershed management will involve the following activities:
i) Resettlement of shifting cultivators from forest areas and their gradual introduction to a more permanent agricultural system such as estate crop planting.
ii) Construction of different types of terraces for dry and farming with contour planting and crop rotation.
iii) Agroforestry practices involving a combination of agriculture and forestry crops in areas adjacent to forests, e.g., rural community development, with active villagers participation, demonstration plots, etc.
iv) Reforestation of degraded land in upstream areas for the purpose of establishing protection forests. Existing protection forests will be demarcated and put under management gradually, e.g., protection from fire, illegal cuttings, etc.
v) Building of structural works, such as check dams, levees, diversion channels and ditches and other flood control devices.
vi) Control of logging practices in the natural forests as well as plantation forests, particularly with respect to methods of mechanical logging and forest road building to minimize soil erosion within the watershed area.
Of all of the above mentioned activities, the most complicated one is the resettlement of shifting cultivators. There are about 1 million potential shifting cultivators to be resettled in more suitable locations and environments in order to increase their prosperity and well-being in terms of education, housing, farming productivity and health.
The Local Community Resettlement Project was started in 1972; the main objective was that shifting cultivators living in scattered houses and isolated areas would be settled, trained, and established as permanent farmers. Up to 1982, 16,217 households have been resettled in 19 different provinces throughout Indonesia funded by government budgets amounting to about US$16 million.
This project did not progress as fast as expected because of the psychological factors involved with people who had practiced shifting cultivation for several generations. However, as the project gained experience there have been some improvements in the methods of and the approaches to resettlement.
Substantial government budgets have been allocated for resettlement programmes since it relates not only to villagers moving to better places, but also to agricultural development, industrial development, education, health improvement, and so on. Some related and integrated activities/projects are:
i) Indigeneous and Isolated Tribes Resettlement, under the Department of Social Affairs.
ii) Mixed transmigration by combining local people (10%) and people from Java (90%) under the Department of Transmigration.
iii) Nucleus Estates for export commodities under the Department of Agriculture.
Throughout watersheds in the Philippines the problem of deforestation through shifting cultivation (locally known as "Kaingin") is serious. Such forest removal and watershed degradation has aggravated annual flooding, altered streamflow patterns and landslides which in turn have caused untold misery to the Filipino people in the form of lost lives, destroyed crops and ruined properties. As early as 1884, though the "Inspeccion General de Montes," which became the prototype of the Philippines forest regulating agency, forestry laws have been promulgated. Among such laws were provisions specifically aimed at deterring forest destruction by slash-and-burn by upland farmers (better known locally as "kaingineros").
For many years, the kaingineros and other forest occupants had been a major concern of the Philippine Forestry Service. Natural resource policy makers, planners, researchers and programme implementors, be they in the government, private industry, or the education sector, have been almost unanimous in considering the kaingineros as the primary cause of many forest lands turning into grasslands. Naturally, forestry laws had been tailored against kaingineros and their shifting cultivation practices in forest lands. Forestry laws were strictly geared towards prosecution and ejection of kaingineros from the uplands and other forest zones. This was in the hope that such a strategy could provide a permanent solution to the mounting deforestation problem brought about by kaingin.
In spite of all these numerous forestry laws and the imposition of severe penalties on "kaingineros," slask-and-burn agriculture still continued and even increased because of a tremendous influx of migrants to forest land. This was basically due to a rapid rate of population, growth, increasing demands for food, inadequate employment opportunities, and land speculation or pressure from "land sharks." It is estimated that today there are around 7.5 million such people within forest lands who are directly dependent on this valuable resource for sustenance and livelihood.
This situation thus called for a redirection of Philippine forestry policies, this time to be more attuned to present and future needs. A strategy that would transform forestry-based activities into more effective agents of socio-economic development for rural people was adopted, therefore, by the Bureau of Forest Development (BFD). As such, one of the BFD's policy directions now is the establishment of more forests and making these forests beneficial to a greater number of people, especially the rural community.
This change of official attitude towards "kaingineros" and other forest occupants gradually led to a series of moves to institute what would later become the Integrated Social Forestry Programme of the Philippines.
In 1971, the Government came out with the "Kaingin Management and Land Settlement Regulations (Forestry Administration Order No. 62) geared towards integrating the "kaingineros" and other forest occupants into the socioeconomic mainstream of society.
This was followed by the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 705 issued in 1975) which confirmed further the Government's concern regarding forest occupants. Among its provisions is one which states that "forest occupancy shall henceforth be managed... "kaingineros," squatters and other occupants who entered into forest lands before the effectively of the Code (May 19, 1975) shall not be prosecuted; provided, that they do not increase their clearings; and provided further, that they undertake activities to conserve and protect the forest resources."
The Forest Occupancy Management Programme then was established and was aimed at stabilizing the occupancy of "kaingineros" and other forest occupants who entered the forest lands prior to May 19, 1975. Specifically, the Programme sought to prevent further forest encroachment and destruction, and to help improve the socio-economic condition of forest occupants. Under the Programme, bonafide forest occupants were allowed to develop the lands they were occupying or cultivating but with the specific provision that the subject lands should not exceed seven hectares per forest occupant. To this effect, a renewable two-year forest occupancy permit was issued to every participating "kainginero."
In 1979, the Government launched the Communal Tree Farming Programme which established tree farms and agroforestry plantations in areas needing immediate reforestation as well as in other open lands. It was purposely conceived to provide additional livelihood opportunities for rural people, particularly the so-called subsistence and submarginal farmers. The programme also sought to augment the nation's food production towards self-sufficiency while accelerating the rehabilitation of denuded forest lands.
Unlike the Forest Occupancy Management programme, the Communal Tree Farming Programme catered not only to "kaingineros" and other forest settlers but also to other members of society who would like to venture into tree farming. Each participant was allocated an area equivalent to his actual occupancy. In the case of open and denuded areas an average of two hectares was allocated to each participant. A 25-year Communal Tree Farming Lease Agreement, renewable for another 25 years, was issued to the participants.
In 1981, following the Communal Tree Farming Programme, the Philippine Government set up a new programme called Family Approach to Reforestation Programme. The programme involved the payment of forest occupants/family participants on a contractual basis, for the establishment, maintenance and protection of forest plantations. It was aimed at accelerating the reforestation of open and denuded forest lands while augmenting the income of forest occupants without necessarily dislocating them. The area allocated to participating families ranged from 3 to 5 hectares, and these were turned over to the Bureau of Forestry Development after two years as soon as the required seedling survival of at least 80 percent had been attained.
Then, finally, came the Integrated Social Forestry Programme (ISFP) which signaled the adoption of social forestry as a forest management and development concept. Through Letter of Instructions No. 1260 signed by President Ferdinand E. Marcos on 28 July 1982, the ISFP has become the umbrella programme for all social forestry related activities of the Bureau of Forest Development. Under it, the activities, personnel, and objectives of the Forest Occupancy Management Programme and the Communal Tree Farming Programme have been merged.
There are seven strategies involved in the social forestry programme:
i) Security of tenure. The lack of tenurial security caused inadequate people's participation because they were not quite sure of their right in the utilization of perennial species such as forest trees and other crops grown within the designated area.
ii) Census of all the "kaingineros," forest occupants and cultural minorities, concerning the wise selection of the area to be developed for social forestry.
iii) Community appraisal. Prior to the actual development, a community assessment is undertaken together with the participants to determine existing farming practices, demographic and socio-economic information, leadership patterns, kinship, accessibility, biophysical conditions and significant problems and constraints. Based on the assessment, appropriate technology packages are formulated to be included in the project area management plan.
iv) Development of agroforest farms. For this strategy, participants are encouraged to develop their lands into productive farms through the adoption of feasible agroforestry technologies with due consideration for soil erosion control and water conservation. Whenever appropriate, livestock and fishery may also be introduced. The boundaries of the land allocated to the individual participants are planted with forest tree species such as Leucaena leucocephala, Albizia falcataria and others.
v) Institutional linkages. The implementation of the ISFP involving both forest resources management and forest-based livelihood development requires close cooperation and assistance of various government agencies and instrumentalities such as the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Social Services and Development, and others.
vi) Support activities. Various support activities are needed to fulfill the requirement of a social forestry programme. It varies from place to place and locality to locality. By and large they are education, extension, information, research and training.
vii) Monitoring and evaluation. Periodic field inspection and monitoring are necessary in order to ensure that problems encountered during implementation are given immediate attention. Annual evaluations and reviews will also be conducted to thrash out financial, technical as well as administrative problems that hinder effective management.
The problems of watershed lands in most of the developing countries are often connected with social and economic patterns which in turn endanger the environment including effects on water quality, water quantity, erosion, flooding and drought [availability of water (ed.)]. In the case of Thailand, shifting cultivation often takes place in areas associated with opium production. This condition makes it different from Indonesia and the Philippines and poses a very serious problem to the world.
Approaches to watershed management in areas of shifting cultivation are presented in the text. The problems are boiled down to one common factor -- that is man and hunger. Yet, there are different degrees of complexities in this case. The majority of shifting cultivators in northern Thailand are "hilltribes" or sometimes called "hill Thai." There are two groups, firstly, those who have been living in the country for a long time and secondly those who are (recent) migrants from neighboring countries. The minor group of shifting cultivators are local Thai villagers who move up to mountain areas for agricultural purposes because in the mountain areas there are lots of opportunities to grow crops which are not successful in lowland area. A new idea at present is to set up a High-land Agricultural Station in order to find out what kind of food crops, cash-crops, fruit-crops and nut-treecrops could be grown at high elevation.
Land or watershed classifications are being carried out in northern Thailand in order to mark specific areas for residential areas, land for agriculture and forest land. This will be the first step of watershed management. After the classification of watersheds, management can follow through with the coordination of various government agencies which will require considerable budget and manpower.
An Integrated Watershed Management Programme seems to be a good compromise. After resettlement of the shifting cultivators in a classified area all government agencies must fulfill their own responsibility actively, otherwise the settlers will move again.
Due to the fact that Thailand is not as heavily populated as Indonesia and the Philippines, there are still adequate lowland and upland areas for cultivation. Steep mountainous areas should be kept for protection forest such as watershed, wildlife and recreation purposes.
Watershed management in Indonesia is difficult in the sense that population density is over 500 people per kmē , at some places even more than 800 people per km . However, the general policy now is to accept the occupation of the highlands for cultivation but an intensive programme to improve cultivation techniques and practices will be introduced in order to avoid further destruction of the watershed. Successful demonstration farms have been established in Panawangan, one of the sub-basins of the Citanduy River Basin Project.
The Philippines have tried many measures from the forest Occupancy Management
Programme, Communal Tree Farming Programme, Family Approach to Reforestation Programme,
and finally the Integrated Social Forestry Programme (ISFP).
All the approaches used here in the three country point at the relationship between people
and the environment, i.e., how to keep people in place and increase production without
negatively affecting the environment.
i) Shifting cultivation presently causes deterioration to watersheds. So, to manage the watershed, people living in the area must be a primary consideration.
ii) Effective coordination among government agencies, water resources development programmes and implementation of watershed protection measures must be carried out simultaneously.
iii) Law enforcement must be strengthened without unfair political interference.
