7 conservation areas for tribes identified

MANILA, Philippines - Concerned government agencies and conservation groups have identified seven areas in the country inhabited by particular tribes, which will serve as pilot sites for a conservation area project led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Director Theresa Mundita Lim of the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) noted Mt. Kalatungan Mountain Range in Bukidnon, home of the Menuvu Community; Cabangan, Zambales and SanFelipe, Za™ found; Mt. Iris, General Nakar, Quezon where the Agta Dumagat-Remontados abound; Mt. Iglit in Oriental Mindoro (Buhid and Bangon tribes); Kalinga (Balatok and Banao tribes); and Mt. Hilong-Hilong in Agusan del Norte, home of the Mamanwa-Manobo tribe, as the priority areas under the “Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Conserved Areas and Territories (ICCAs)” project.

Lim said these municipalities are located within key biodiversity areas of the country that are now enjoying protection.

“We could have included some more areas but because of limited resources, we will be focusing on these seven locations, for the meantime,” she added.

Though conservation groups such as the Philippine Association for Intercultural Development Inc. has cited the seven communities and tribes’ unique characteristics, it also noted that all are now being confronted with the problem of stiff competition because of the existence of limited resources in these areas.

Lim said ICCAs strengthen the resolve of the indigenous peoples (IPs) to sustain their strong links with the environment and continue practicing their traditional resource management and practices.

“As a result, there is reduced cost for the DENR in the management of these areas. It is also a venue to recognize the IP community’s contribution to country’s conservation efforts. We are also able to identify ways to support IP communities to better manage their ICCAs, and determine the zones and spaces within the ancestral domains where productive and developmental activities will be undertaken,” said Lim in a press briefing recently.

The BMB likewise announced the holding of simultaneous conferences on ICCAs and Local Conservation Areas this October. The conference aims to bring together IP leaders from the major island and ethnolinguistic groups, support organizations, representatives from government agencies, private sector, academe, and individuals and members of international organizations supporting ICCAs.

This is made possible in partnership with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, the GIZ-supported Protected Area Management Enhancement (PAME) project, the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation Inc., United Nations Development Program-Global Environment Facility funded New Conservation Areas in the Philippines Project, PAFID and the Bukluran ICCA Consortium through Kasapi.

Dr. Oliver Puginer of PAME said some nine million euros have been earmarked for the ICCA project, which started October 2012 and ends in 2017.