<
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/philippine-indigenous-communities-restore-a-mountain-forest-to-prevent-urban-flooding/>
"On the slopes of Mount Kalatungan, a protected area on the island of Mindanao
in the southern Philippines, rows of robusta coffee shrubs thrive alongside
tropical hardwoods like
lauan. The verdant mountain is enveloped in
mid-afternoon fog, with a cold breeze sweeping through. Reynante Polenda, a
40-year-old Manobo tribesman, carefully weeds around the trees he planted years
ago, using his bolo, while birds chirp in the background.
“It should be kept cleared of weeds because the trees will struggle to grow if
you don’t,” Polenda tells
Mongabay. His breath comes in heavy gasps, and
sweat drips down his face as he continues. “It’s tiring, but it’s worth it for
the plants to grow well.”
Many would call this agroforestry, but in this part of the Philippines it’s
known as “rainforestation farming” and it’s combined with a payment for
ecosystem services initiative administered by local NGO Xavier Science
Foundation (XSF). The goal here is to restore forestland degraded by decades of
commercial logging and agricultural expansion, to rejuvenate vital ecosystem
services like flood mitigation, and to incentivize the communities driving the
restoration."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
