The Green Economy and Constructions of the "Idle" and "Unproductive" Uplands in the Philippines

Abstract

In the Philippines, green economy projects encourage the production of agro-industrial commodities ostensibly for climate change mitigation, environmental rehabilitation, and inclusive rural economic growth. This paper illustrates, however, how elite constructions of the uplands as being "idle" and "unproductive" precipitate low-carbon, agro-industrial crop production in the Philippine frontier. Based on field research from 2010 to 2012 (i.e., in-depth interviews with policy and market elites, participant observation, and archival document analysis), we argue that elites constructions of and discourses on the uplands as idle and unproductive have been carried over from the colonial period, a..