Sustainable forest management: heritage tourism,biodiversity, and upland communities in the Philippines

This paper discusses sustainable forest management in the context of forest-based tourism in the Philippines. Integrating heritage tourism in the implementation of forest management is paramount because the quality and sustainability of nature tourism depend on the ecological integrity of forests. The role of tourism in achieving the goals of sustainable forest management is crucial especially in countries such as the Philippines where the demands for forest resources for tourism and other purposes have been increasing. The tourism management strategies to achieve sustainable forest management in the Philippines include establishing recreational zones within protected forests; using different native fruit-bearing trees in reforestation to attract diverse wildlife, which is a drawcard in tourism; prohibiting illegal collections of threatened forest species for souvenirs; enhancing the tourism and conservation values of botanic gardens within forest reserves; providing supplementary livelihoods to upland dwellers via agroforestry projects; and respecting the culture and practices of indigenous upland people while supporting their economic and traditional subsistence.