Contrasting Ecosystem Quality Outcomes: An Analysis Spanning Three Decades Across the Protected, Ancestral, and Reforestation Zones of the Magbando Watershed, Occidental Mindoro, Philippines
Kyle Pierre R. Israel, Kristina S.A. Cordero-Bailey

Department of Community and Environmental Resource Planning, College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines Los Banos

Abstract

Effective management of watersheds with overlapping conservation and ancestral land designations requires robust monitoring. This study assesses more than 35 years of spatiotemporal ecosystem quality dynamics in the Magbando watershed, Mindoro Island, which contains the Mts. Iglit-Baco Natural Park (an ASEAN Heritage Park) and the Buhid-Bangon ancestral domain. Using cloud-based remote sensing, the research employed the Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI), which integrates greenness (NDVI), dryness (NDBSI), wetness (LSM), and heat (LST) via Principal Component Analysis to provide a holistic ecological assessment.

The results reveal that zones under indigenous and formal protection have the highest ecological quality. Ancestral domains ranked highest (peak RSEI 0.717: good), followed by overlapping protected/ancestral areas (0.656: good) and protected areas alone (0.624: good). Conversely, ecological health declined significantly in other zones, with lands under the National Greening Program (NGP) registering a lower ^moderate^ quality (0.597) and unprotected areas showing the lowest values (0.519).

These findings strongly suggest that traditional indigenous land management practices within the Buhid-Bangon domain are more effective at maintaining long-term ecosystem integrity than the studied government-led reforestation program. The results challenge conventional top-down restoration approaches and highlight the vital role of Indigenous Peoples as effective environmental stewards. Further field validation is needed to investigate the specific land-use practices driving these outcomes and to better integrate indigenous knowledge into national conservation and restoration strategies.

Keywords: ancestral domain, protected areas, National Greening Program, ecological quality, Google Earth Engine

Topic: Topic B: Applications of Remote Sensing