Economic implications of reforestation as a forest restoration strategy under the community-based forest management program in Quirino province, Philippines

Abstract

In this study, the RP-German Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) Project in Quirino Province, being one of the successful CBFM projects in the country, is used as a case study in order to determine and assess the costs and benefits the CBFM participants bear as a result of the reforestation project. The study also provides some policy initiatives to fulfill the objectives of CBFM. There are two economic techniques used in the study, Opportunity Cost Analysis and Contingent Valuation in order to estimate the costs and benefits borne by the CBFM participants as a result of the project. Results of the analyses indicate that the CBFM participants had economic losses as a result of the project. Therefore, available options of reforestation for the CBFM participants should prove to be profitable in the long run and provide guarantees that the returns would flow back to the community. © 2006 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.