Establishing Agro-forest, Fishery Ecological Zones : Vital in Mitigating Climate Change
Climate Change is for real, but we can do something to cushion its effects in agriculture.
One way is by establishing agro-forest and fishery ecological zones (AFFEZ). Researchers have already proposed to do this in the Cordillera pursuant to the identification of strategic agriculture and fisheries development zones (SAFDZ) as called for in the implementation of Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA).
The proposal was part of the paper titled “Rehabilitation and Management of Biological Landscape Diversity in the Cordilleras: Biophysical and Socio-economic Concern” of Dr. Joseph J.C. Madamba, Cordillera Highland Agriculture Resources Management (CHARM) Project consultancy group, Dr. Cameron P. Odsey, Dr. Rogelio Colting, Dr. Vicente P. Veracion, Dr. Darlyn D. Tagarino, and Dr. Magdalena Wanawan.
The authors made an AFFEZ delineation for the Cordillera which reveals the interconnection of North Luzon’s physical makeup and dependence on biodiversity. It also underscores the need for local development workers and residents to understand the region’s physical makeup to prepare appropriate development plans for each AFFEZ.
However, both local and national planners have not yet followed this approach in planning and project implementation, which is very unfortunate since it is very practical and sound.
The soundness of this approach is apparent in the assigning of slope gradient to each AFFEZ. In the delineation, very steep areas that have a slope gradient of 50 percent belong to the upper slope, steep areas with slope gradient of 25 to 50 percent to the mid-slope, moderately sloping areas with slope gradient of 8 to 25 percent to the bottom slope, and relatively flatlands with slope gradient of less than 8 percent to the plateau.
Considering the delineation, then the community land-use plans for the Cordillera should identify these areas and include a definite resource utilization plan for each AFFEZ. Developing the AFFEZ, however, demands more work and imagination from local residents and rural development institutions for this includes rehabilitation, conservation, and management and planning on species diversity, habitat, and well-being in each AFFEZ. These things should be the core of community land-use plans. But to date, information on land use varies from each province, and in some cases, the data are even confusing.
According to the authors, about 24 percent of the region’s total land area is very steep, 20 percent is steep, 21 percent is moderately sloping, and 10 percent is rolling or undulating in topography. It is important to note that from this perception, about 25 percent of the region’s land area is characterized as plateau or flatland. This suggests that SAFDZ have significant coverage in the region.
IDENTIFYING AND ESTABLISHING SAFDZ
There are also criteria for identifying SAFDZ and these are the following:
•agro-climatic and environmental conditions which give the area a comparative advantage in production and processing of crops, trees, animals, and aquatic products;
• strategic location of the area for the establishment of agriculture/fishery infrastructures and production and processing zones;
• target area for market development and networking at both domestic and export levels;
• the target area has a least 1,000 hectares of plateau which are linked by roads; and
•dominant presence of Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) and small-hold cultivators, farmers, and fisherfolk.
In establishing SAFDZs, on the other hand, target provinces are tasked to conduct the following: assessment of the province’s natural resource base; assessment of emerging commercial technologies applicable to the province; and assessment of current and potential agribusiness opportunities.
By doing these, technologies will be matched with the resources of each municipality and with the current and potential business opportunities of agro-industrial products.
Conducting these assessments will also lead into the development of community-based action plans that consider important aspects such as the following: participative enterprise-planning workshops; commodity-specific income enhancement plans which include technology plan, agribusiness plan, and environment and natural resource management plan; organizational development action; income generating actions; community-mobilizing process; and determining how these community-based action plans could be incorporated with the pertinent municipal Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Plan (AFMP) which the AFMA also mandates to be done. By doing this, the SAFDZ will serve as development “nuclei” of a net-work of protected areas for agriculture and fisheries development.
And since substantial areas in high and mid-mountain zones in the Cordillera have the comparative advantage in the commercial production of semi-temperate crops and livestock, the manner of identifying appropriate land-use alternatives in planning, monitoring, and management of SAFDZ and AFMP should be based on the AFFEZ that cover a given elevation, slope gradients, and climatic and hydrological characteristics.
On the other hand, there are also other suggested operational focus and corresponding strategies that need to be taken into account in the pursuit of sustainable resource management in the region. These include the following:
• participatory planning and monitoring of AFMPs;
• projection of operational areas for rehabilitation and management of biological and landscape diversity (SALT 3, which focuses on long-term forest trees, is recommended for areas in each AFFEZ with a slope gradient of more than 50 percent. For areas in each AFFEZ with a slope gradient of 8 to 50 percent, it is recommended that at least 5 percent of the AFFEZ be set aside for the establishment of community-based biodiversity conservation reservations, and another 5 percent for possible e
