Changes in indigenous land use system: From swidden to sedentary agriculture

As the Philippine government continues to embrace the establishment of protected areas as a primary strategy for environmental conservation, livelihood difficulties have arisen in marginal areas where land and forest resources become scarce. This paper explores why the indigenous Tagbanua people, who commonly practice shifting agriculture (or swidden), are slowly moving towards sedentary agriculture due to socio-political and economic pressures at Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Palawan Island, the Philippines. A semi-structured, open-ended questionnaire is used to explore the factors that have given rise to this shift in land use production among Tagbanua. The limitations of access to forest areas, programs of government and non-government organizations, declining swidden productivity and growth of local markets have caused Tagbanua to opt for rice paddy and fruit farming. Current national park-related interventions are directed towards stabilizing swidden to prevent further expansion into the forest frontiers of buffer zones. Efforts from government and non-governmental organization have brought livelihood programs, dispersal of seedlings, draught animals, and seminars and trainings to facilitate the sedentary farming of Tagbanua. Currently, swidden is practiced as a means of land preparation for the expansion and establishments of fruit plantations, paddy rice cultivation and other intensified agriculture. However, this does not suggest that swidden is completely in demise. Although agricultural intensification is on the rise, swidden agriculture is still integrated into Tagbanua livelihood strategies.