Charles P. Castro ([email protected])
Agroforestry apostles, especially those looking for new worlds to conquer in pursuit of their mission to "transform lives and landscapes," would do well to consider the prospects and options, let alone the fresh winds of change, that ecotourism has to offer.
To put it bluntly, it’s high time to upgrade agroforestry by opening its doors to the energizing effect of ecotourism.
Whether we like it or not, ecotourism has become a growth area to contend with, not only in the environment and natural resource sector, to which agroforestry belongs, but also in other sectors of society.
Why ecotourism? In the words of the World Travel and Tourism Council: "Tourism is the world’s largest industry, bigger than autos, steel, electronics or agriculture; generates more than US$3.5 trillion of world output; employs 127 million men and women; accounts for 13 percent of consumer spending, the largest expenditure after food; will double by year 2005 with constructive government policies; and is committed to grow with the environment."
A dissection of ecotourism’s repercussions on agroforestry, would show that as a whole, ecotourism’s concerns (environmental conservation, economic development, the wellbeing of people, a high-quality experience for the visitors, sensitivity to traditional culture, understanding flora and fauna, and preservation of the natural world) are not alien to those who work in agroforestry.
I am not suggesting that ecotourism and agroforestry should marry. But it is in ecotourism where agroforestry can find new meaning, new uses, new allies, new horizons, new relevance and, yes, new reasons for being.
Insofar as synergy, effectiveness and sustainability are concerned, the two fields have a number of unifying features and areas of compatibility that we can use to make our choices.
For instance, ecotourism, when properly conceived and carried out, can become a powerful instrument for taking care of nature while providing beneficial impacts to local populations and favorable repercussions for educational programs.
Could we say the same thing for agroforestry farms? The answer depends on how the agroforestry farms are designed and managed. If they are laid out and stewarded to also enhance their aesthetic and soul-enriching qualities, rather than being focused only on their capacity to produce food, wood, and protect the soil, the answer would be yes.
Even as they can grow independent of the other, ecotourism and agroforestry can be symbiotic partners. In fact, they can be better off if ecotourism serves as the delivery system, while agroforestry acts as the content provider.
Agroforestry farmers could go into collaborative arrangements with ecotourism destinations (eco-destinations) where they could provide fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and meat products, fuelwood, cut flowers, ornamentals and construction materials to these establishments.
Agroforestry farmers can even be tapped for landscaping, site maintenance, soil erosion control, and other ecosystem restoration or land-care needs of the tourism facilities.
What do the farmers get in return? Among other things, a sure market and fair prices for their goods and services, keeping them from falling prey to middlemen and to other exploitative market systems.
The Philippines’ potentials for becoming an ecotourism paradise are as many and as varied as there are hills and valleys and communities in its 7 100 islands.
In other words, making agroforestry work with ecotourism can lead to a vibrant win-win situation for both fields. In the end, the larger community will benefit as both parties work to make their eco-destinations ecologically healthy, clean, aesthetically appealing, with distinct elements of biodiversity and wilderness. With proper care, these destinations can serve their tourism purposes well within their carrying capacities.
Agroforestry can be an object of ecotourism itself. This means that agroforestry farms (or complexes) can be converted into ecotourism destinations themselves.
Yes, agroforestry can itself be a strong tourist attraction depending on what nature-based recreation features it can offer to tourists. Immediately, what comes to mind as an illustrative case is the indigenous agroforestry system (called pinugo) of the terrace-building Ifugaos. Also a strong candidate is the agroforestry learning complex of the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center in Davao del Sur, best known for its SALT (sloping agricultural land technology) systems.
A few resort and real estate developers in the Philippines have recently adopted the idea of converting certain hills of Tagaytay and Batangas, south of Manila, to cater to the needs of urban people in search of quiet and soothing scenery as well as organic food and the rare experience of becoming weekend farmers. Modern society’s cravings for things close to nature --the turf of ecotourism -- provides a fertile ground for the growth of an even more robust and fruitful agroforestry. If consciously adhered to or merged with agroforestry, organic farming would further boost the ecotourism-agroforestry partnership.
The thoughts outlined in this article are but a few of the possibilities that agroforestry-based ecotourism (or let’s call it "ecotourism-focused agroforestry") could go into. All right, it may take heaven and earth for some of us to depart from tradition, transform the current agroforestry paradigm, and let it cross-pollinate with ecotourism. In fact, we have yet to see the academe and even the research and development (R&D) sector seriously pay attention to ecotourism as an exciting route toward what we all wish to achieve for our people, our economy, our environment and natural resources.
But let’s not give up. If it is of any comfort, the same lukewarm reception was given to agroforestry not so long ago. The guys in agriculture and the forestry hardliners then were not seeing eye-to-eye as to how to make their fields converge. But, as you know, things have changed through the years.
What we need now is a little push from the powers that be in the private sector and key researchers, including those at the World Agroforestry Centre or ICRAF. Or maybe, all that we need are researchers articulately and convincingly proclaiming to the world that agroforestry cum ecotourism is wise and wonderful. There had been numerous cases of meek voices suddenly gathering momentum given the right exposure in scholarly publications and in conferences. Again, the muyong or pinugo system of the Ifugaos comes to mind. This agroforestry system was first made public to the academic world by the anthropologist Harold Conklin, and much later, was articulated by the environmental journalist Ramon Dacawi and forest researcher Sharon Codamon.
A few more issues need airing. Where are the areas available for ecotourism-focused agroforestry? Who will practice it? Who will be the target clients?
How do we mix agroforestry’s scientific possibilities, along with ecotourism’s intents and purposes, with what the local stakeholders (especially the people who would be engaged to try the idea) need or are culturally prepared to handle?
More and more tourists will find excitement and adventure in viewing the features, potentials and capabilities of the different agroforestry systems, and may even try for themselves the ordinary things that farmers do, such as tree-planting, weeding, looking for pests, and tending crops and farm animals.
As long as we keep in mind to keep agroforestry-cum-ecotourism areas within the vision of improving the quality of life of the host community, providing a high-quality experience for the visitors and maintaining the quality of the environment, we cannot go wrong.
Now, if only our friends in institutions such as ICRAF, still undeniably the foremost authority on agroforestry, gave this little idea some thought.
The author is a technical specialist for training, extension and technology transfer of the Community-Based Resource Management Project, Department of Finance, Manila, Philippines.
Charles P. Castro ([email protected])
Growing food items for tourists
Local and foreign tourists alike prefer organically grown and "mountain-fresh" fruits and chemical-free foodstuff over those sold at exorbitant prices in city malls. Agroforestry farms can grow potential high-value crops such as papaya, banana, durian, lanzones, pomelo, rambutan, mango and mangosteen. Growing livestock can also be a viable component. If symbiotic linkages could be established between agroforestry farmers and ecotourism operators, adherents to the causes of both fields could be recruited.
Producing building and decorative materials for tourist facilities
Agroforestry entrepreneurs could cash in on the tremendous need of tourism and resort operators for materials such as bamboo, palm leaves, small poles, vines and rattan to construct cottages, slat floors and picnic huts. The prospects are bright for agroforestry farmers to include ornamental plants, orchids and cut flowers among their crops. Indeed, it would help if agroforesters could possibly graduate from their food-and-wood production systems and diversify a bit to cater to the needs of tourism establishments for such things that seem little, but have big roles to play in the overall scenario of developing a culture of tourism and nature care.
Rehabilitating degraded systems
Agroforestry can rehabilitate blighted landscapes caused by past land-use activities such as quarrying, mining, logging, squatting and grazing. Contour farming restores soil fertility and arrests soil erosion. To let them commune with nature, tourists can have hands-on opportunities to feel the earth and join ecosystem restoration activities. They can plant seedlings and "adopt" these. Doing so can be a good reason for them to return to the area even if only to check on the status of the trees they planted. This is one way agroforestry planners could show their counterparts in the tourism industry that the earth’s wounds could be healed; that agroforestry could bring about economically productive, technically effective, and yet aesthetically attractive ways of resurrecting or reinvigorating the health of degraded landscapes. From there, the road to recruiting agroforestry patrons and applying the method in other sites is not a long one.
Stabilizing upstream areas
As a soil and water conservation technology, agroforestry can help keep downstream eco-destinations worry-free, so to speak, insofar as water supply and the stability of mountain streams are concerned. Tourism managers cannot afford to isolate their tourist attractions from other ecosystems, especially those situated in the headwaters or upslope of the points of interest. What poetic inspiration could one waterfall give to the artistically inclined sojourner if instead of refreshing crystal-clear waters, one would see a coffee-colored thing? What good therapy could a mountain stream give to families out on a picnic if the kids could not even dare to dip their feet on muddy waters? What good would natural swimming pools be if in summer, when they are needed most, the pools would be devoid of the cool and refreshing water that they are supposed to have? These concerns are easily within the territory of well-meaning practitioners of agroforestry.
Creating habitat and feeding areas for wildlife
Agroforestry can play a role in keeping the wildlife component of eco-destinations alive and active by providing them alternative refuges, food sources and even nesting sites. The farms could even be good reason for migratory birds to make the locality their stopover - or to linger in the area longer. The idea of agroforestry farms being wildlife feeders-cum-buffer zones for eco-destinations is not a bad one. But this requires that agroforestry sites be so planned and managed to make them attractive to the wildlife themselves. One technique is to develop viable, robust and tolerant forests of timber-producing as well as fruit-bearing trees, capable of coping flexibly with pests and diseases, including weather or climatic fluctuations such as the El Niño phenomenon.
