Economic aspects of community‐based forest management program as a strategy for forest landscape restoration in the Philippines

The study looked into the economic aspects, particularly costs and benefits, of the strategies used in the restoration of degraded uplands in Quirino Province, Philippines under the Community‐Based Forest Management Program. Their strategies are agroforestry and reforestation. Data from five sites in the Quirino province was derived through surveys and interviews with CBFM respondents supported by secondary data. Three techniques, namely financial analysis, opportunity cost analysis and contingent valuation method were used to estimate the costs and benefits of the restoration strategies to the CBFM participants. Results of the analyses indicated that aside from contributing to the vegetative improvement of the forest landscape in the area, the program has also provided economic benefits to the local people in the form of increased employment, additional income, financial support, provision of production inputs, availability of land for cultivation and funds for the people's organization.