#Palawan: Stop blaming indigenous peoples’ farming practices for deforestation- look at oil palm plantations and mining
▻http://farmlandgrab.org/post/view/24842-palawan-stop-blaming-indigenous-peoples-farming-practices-for-de
Recent years have seen an exponential increase in land deals across the Philippines with the conversion of large expanses of land with crops mainly intended for export while traditional upland farming implemented through swidden (‘slash-and-burn’) technology (kaingin) is demonized and antagonized through restrictive legislation. The latter, however, fosters local self-sufficiency and plays a fundamental role in the livelihood and worldviews of indigenous societies.
Palawan, known as the “Philippine last Frontier”, in spite of its unique recognition as a UNESCO Man & Biosphere Reserve, has not been spared from massive investments in extractive resources and industrial agriculture, especially oil palm and rubber development. And yet, indigenous people and upland dwellers continue to be blamed for massive deforestation and ecological disaster.Not surprisingly, the recent front cover of a well known Philippine Newspaper (the Daily Inquirer, May 9 issue) holds a headline post with a powerful image that easily conflates all upland peoples as criminal agriculturalists (▻http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/684378/summer-not-all-beach-in-palawan-it-is-the-season-to-burn-forests) “Images are powerful and can be damaging” says Wolfram Dressler a Research Fellow from the University of Melbourne (Australia) who has carried out extensive anthropological research in Palawan. ”They can direct blame without nuance and context. The masses (and government) absorb such images to reinforce centuries old narratives demonizing kaingin—a term that many farmers avoid because of its pejorative nature” adds Dressler.
The Inquirer’s article was triggered by an aerial survey carried out by the so called Center for Sustainability (CS), a nonprofit organization allegedly working for sustainable development in Palawan. The group spotted from the air key locations, previously covered by forest, and which have now been subject to clearing due to various external forces (mining, oil palm plantations and shifting agriculture (locally known as kaingin, or more appropriately ‘uma’). According to the group, in addition to clearing by ‘poor farmers’, forest burning in the south has been linked to the proliferation of palm oil and rubber plantations, and the main target of ‘slash-and-burn’ activities is the clearing of primary forests for development.
Ironically, for carrying out its photo survey CS conservationists have barrowed the private plane of multimillionaire Jose Alvarez, the present Governor of Palawan, a well-known supporter of large-scale agro-industry, especially rubber which accelerates deforestation and deprives more traditional indigenous communities of their resource-base.
#peuples_autochtones #Philippines #agriculture #agro-industrie #forêt #déforestation #huile_de_palme #caoutchouc