This study sheds Understanding the Role of Forests in Supporting Livelihoods and Climate Resilience new light on two important aspects of climate change and forest ecosystems. It looks at how forest ecosystems help enhance people’s resilience to climate impacts, and how forest ecosystems support livelihood development for the poor. The analytical report that follows presents the findings of empirical work undertaken between May 2015 and November 2016.
The report relies on new empirical work. In applying a mix of analytical approaches, including ecosystem accounting models, focus group discussions, and participatory scenario development, the study valuates forest benefits, implements forest use surveys, and performs trade-off analysis at three case study sites in the Philippines. Landscape simulations were developed to test ecosystem service provision under different land cover extent and spatial arrangements within a watershed. Together, the analyses help inform a better understanding of how forests and their ecosystem services contribute to poverty alleviation in the Philippines and at the same time enhance resilience to climate change.