Cooperators' Perceptual Profile and Range of Participation in Community Environmental Programs in Palawan

Abstract

The study compared the cooperators' perceptual profile and range of participation in government (GO) and non-government organizations (NGO) community environmental programs in Palawan. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR) Community Forestry Program (CFP) in Mariwara, Princess Urduja, Narra and Haribon Palawan's Community Development Program for Environmental Protection (CDEP) were analyzed based on the Kincaid's Convergence Theory.

Positive perceptions of the community cooperators on environmental programs were revealed for both GO and NGO. Four factors classified their perceptions under each program. These were: participation, economic benefits accruing from forest utilization and organizational concerns, sustainability, and role of community for CFP; and participation and provision of alternative economic sources, organizational concerns and environmental awareness, education and values formation, and preservation and its effect for CDEP. These factors reflect the elements and directions of the environmental programs. Furthermore, wide range of participation of the NGO and GO community cooperators particularly in the implementation phase of the two programs was evident.

With the growing concern on environmentalism and the proliferation of environmental programs, the community cooperators should already take part on the onset to ensure that the what, how, where, when and expected effects are attuned to their situation and geared towards their welfare.