LAND TENURE DYNAMICS IN GEOGRAPHICALLY ISOLATED AND DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY: INSIGHTS FROM MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
A geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs), Barangay Kiorao is located in the Municipality of Kibawe, Province of Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines. The goal of this study is to assess land tenure rights in Kiorao. The objectives are as follows: 1) Determine the different land uses in the barangay, 2) Assess the natural resource development potential, 3) Determine the forms of land tenure arrangements in the community; and 4) Identify the key stakeholders in the land tenure arrangement. The methodology employed use of secondary land use data, participatory workshops and geographic information system (GIS). The results showed that Kiorao is an agricultural community with 44.5% of the land dedicated to crop production, tree cover likewise covers a significant area at 36.7%. The remaining natural forest is merely riparian, thus, natural resources development options will be confined to agricultural and silvicultural. Tax declaration is the form of land tenure amongst 98% of the households, while 0.5% possess a land title. A Community-based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA) was granted, but the community has been drowned with bureaucratic and technical requirements, not being able to extract timber which they have planted. While struggling to make sense of the promised security, the community has to apply for renewal of the CBFMA, now clouded with a competing process of an ancestral domain claim. The concept of convergence among government program is much needed in this particular experience of Kiorao so that land tenure is secured for the community; settlers and indigenous peoples.
GIDAs, Land Tenure Security, Land Use, Land Cover, Community Based Forest Management.