<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The sustainability of forests and forestland resources is essential in ensuring the long-term well-being of ecosystems, biodiversity, and human society. This study analyzed available data from triangulated sources that produced information about extent and locations of the current assets, threats, and opportunities that were analyzed using various statistical methods, image and spatial analysis, and situational analysis in order to develop and sustain applicable management, conservation, and protection strategies for forest and forestland (FFL) resources of Baler, Aurora. Results revealed that there were significant changes of FFL assets from 2003 to 2018, and the recent data showed that closed forest was still the dominant cover of the area along with other assets like biodiversity, tourism, water resources, and others. The decreasing trend of the forest cover was the result of expansion of cultivated lands that follows the occurrence of several threats both from natural and anthropogenic sources. The most severe among the anthropogenic threats is timber poaching followed by charcoal making, pole timber collection, and firewood gathering. These threats were driven by the number of dependents, home-to-threat distance, conveyances used, and income earned per activity. Social geomatics of the identified threats shows that the human activities had extended almost to the farthest portions of each sub-watersheds that affects opportunities for development and sustainable utilization of resources. Assets, threats, and opportunities were considered as inputs used in situational analysis of sub-watersheds of which prior-itization of use was decided and FFL management strategies were developed and proposed to be sustained in order to produce optimum ecological, socio-cultural, and economical benefits in the future.</p>
</abstract>

The sustainability of forests and forestland resources is essential in ensuring the long-term well-being of ecosystems, biodiversity, and human society. This study analyzed available data from triangulated sources that produced information about extent and locations of the current assets, threats, and opportunities that were analyzed using various statistical methods, image and spatial analysis, and situational analysis in order to develop and sustain applicable management, conservation, and protection strategies for forest and forestland (FFL) resources of Baler, Aurora. Results revealed that there were significant changes of FFL assets from 2003 to 2018, and the recent data showed that closed forest was still the dominant cover of the area along with other assets like biodiversity, tourism, water resources, and others. The decreasing trend of the forest cover was the result of expansion of cultivated lands that follows the occurrence of several threats both from natural and anthropogenic sources. The most severe among the anthropogenic threats is timber poaching followed by charcoal making, pole timber collection, and firewood gathering. These threats were driven by the number of dependents, home-to-threat distance, conveyances used, and income earned per activity. Social geomatics of the identified threats shows that the human activities had extended almost to the farthest portions of each sub-watersheds that affects opportunities for development and sustainable utilization of resources. Assets, threats, and opportunities were considered as inputs used in situational analysis of sub-watersheds of which prior-itization of use was decided and FFL management strategies were developed and proposed to be sustained in order to produce optimum ecological, socio-cultural, and economical benefits in the future.

Assets, Threats, and Opportunities in Developing and Sustaining the Management of Forest and Forestland Resources of Baler, Aurora, Philippines

School of Forestry and Environmental Sciences

Ekológia (Bratislava)

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The sustainability of forests and forestland resources is essential in ensuring the long-term well-being of ecosystems, biodiversity, and human society. This...

Assets, Threats, and Opportunities in Developing and Sustaining the Management of Forest and Forestland Resources of Baler, Aurora, Philippines

Published Online: Jun 04, 2024

Page range: 76 - 90

Received: Sep 01, 2023

Accepted: Jan 08, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eko-2024-0008

Keywords
biodiversity, FFL, situational analysis, social geomatics, sustainable forest management

© 2024 Rb Juarez Gallego, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Assets, Threats, and Opportunities in Developing and Sustaining the Management of Forest and Forestland Resources of Baler, Aurora, Philippines

Published Online: Jun 04, 2024

Page range: 76 - 90

Received: Sep 01, 2023

Accepted: Jan 08, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eko-2024-0008

Keywordsbiodiversity, FFL, situational analysis, social geomatics, sustainable forest management

© 2024 Rb Juarez Gallego, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
biodiversity, FFL, situational analysis, social geomatics, sustainable forest management