Development assistance to upland communities in the Philippines

Abstract

Over the last two decades, there has been a growing concern about the alarming rate of Philippines forest degradation and upland poverty. The government have initiated and implemented programs, and policy reforms adopted to address the problem. The country has also been recipient to substantial development assistance of loans and grants from international funding agencies in support of sustainable forest management and poverty reduction. Although there were some successes, upland development assistance has been short of its targets in addressing poverty reduction and natural resource degradation attributable to the following: