Old thoughts in new ideas: Tagbanua forest use and state conservation measures at Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Palawan Island, Philippines

This study examines how Tagbanua responses to changes in conservation approaches have shaped forest access and use in relation to the political economy of a buffer zone village on Palawan Island, the Philippines. A recent shift from "fences and fines" to "devolved" conservation at Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Cabayugan has been lauded in government and non-governmental circles to support Tagbanua livelihoods while preserving the rain forest. Concurrently, however, the Tagbanua have adjusted to migrants dispossessing them of land, controlling the trade in forest products, and the means of agricultural production. Given that conservation and local resource access and use now intersect, this study asks whether "community-based" conservation can fulfill its own objectives while addressing older disparities in social relations of production and exchange.; A history of national park and cadastral zoning has restricted Tagbanua access to forest resources while supporting settler migration onto public lands. The two-way process of park zoning and migrant control over trade and productive resources has become interrelated and shaped the evolution of conservation in Cabayugan from 1971-2001. Although older "fences and fines" criminalized traditional resource uses, such as swidden (kaingin), and supported state interests in expanding paddy rice cultivation (basakan ), newer community-based approaches have carried on this agenda. Going against its purported benefits, such conservation has supported the livelihoods of dominant households, both politically and economically. Over time, these households have used political economic opportunities to build on and influence how projects support their livelihoods, which has exacerbated socio-economic differences between both social groups. As a result, conservation practitioners have continued to tie into and support wealthier households' production, while fulfilling the state's agenda of curbing swidden. Confined to unequal trade and restrictions over swidden, Tagbanua livelihoods remain vulnerable and have difficulty sustaining paddy rice. With few options to reinvest, they fail to access those socio-political and economic networks that enable participation in projects that support more lucrative cultivation. Despite good intentions, current attempts by state practitioners and non-governmental organizations at livelihood development for conservation have proven to be more divisive than effective.