IN THIS ISSUE: The focus on the issue of environment and development provides the thematic framework for this edition of SILLIMAN JOURNAL. It has been noticeable in recent years that the focus on the environment as a study has attracted the attention of several scholars representing many of the shades of opinion that are characteristic of this disparate discipline. Seven articles in this issue contributed by authors coming from different disciplinary backgrounds address both the human and the natural aspects of the environment from a variety of perspectives. The first six articles in particular explore what in Environmentalism has come to be known as “ecosocietal restoration” which calls for a reexamination of human society’s relationships with natural systems so that the destruction and repair of ecosystems can be sustainably balanced. A common thread running through these articles is the emphasis on the importance of understanding connections both within natural systems and with social and economic concerns. All six articles implicitly argue for alternative policy initiatives which take into account environmental literacy and the need to educate the public in order to change attitudes and behaviors that are deleterious to natural systems.

The first three articles explore this theme within the context of the lives of the indigenous peoples of Negros Oriental. These three articles were outgrowths of the Ancestral Domain Research Project commissioned by the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office of Negros Oriental. The leading article by Nichol R. Elman and Ceres E. Pioquinto discusses the specific research methodology designed for the special requirements of the Ancestral Domain Research Project. In the second, Rolando V. Mascufiana reports the findings of his ethnographic study on the Negritos of Canggohob, Mabinay and
the Bukidnons of Tayawan, Bayawan and Cabatuanan, Basay, Negros Oriental. The third article by Andrea G. Soluta with Wilfa Glynnis V. Manginsay offers baseline information on the present situation of the indigenous cultural communities of Negros Oriental, and concludes with a situational analysis by
Ceres E. Pioquinto.

The next two articles by Betty C. Abregana and Enrique G. Oracion respectively were products of the Palawan Formative Research in Support of Environmental Communication Campaign. These two articles provide a comparative analysis of the knowledge and practices of local government officials, opinion leaders, and local residents relative to the environment. These two studies raise the question of how national and local government policy aims may be linked to resource management while at the same time suggest the vital role of environmental communication campaign as the key to changing the public's
attitudes and behaviors that are detrimental to the environment.

In a similar way, Angel C. Alcala’s article suggests the connection between policy initiatives and local habitat and livelihood, linking sound environmental practices to community rehabilitation programs. In particular, it considers the role of organized communities and the Community Based Fishery Management approach as one of the effective strategies in solving the problem of dwindling fishery resources and argues for the establishment of marine reserves in the management of coastal fisheries.

Although departing from the general theme of this issue, but still necessarily part of the natural landscape, the subject of this issue's final article by Wayne A. Brown will be of particular importance to entomologists and to anyone interested in the distinctive and dynamic interactions among air, water, soil, biota, and people which constitute the environment.