First published on 09/05/2013, and last updated on 03/05/2018
By: Sam Pedragosa, Regional Coordinator for South-East Asia
27 participants attended a training on ICCA documentation held at the Dagwey Training Center of the Kalahan Educational Foundation (KEF) in Imugan, Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. The indigenous communities that participated included the Balatoc and Banao peoples of Kalinga, the Aeta of Banawen, Zambales, the Dumagat of Polilio Island and Nakar, Quezon, and the Tau-Buhid of Mindoro Island. They were joined by the project staff of the NewCAPP partner organizations which include the Koalisyon ng mga Katutubong Samahan ng Pilipinas (KASAPI), Anthropology Watch (Anthrowatch) and the Concerned Citizens’ of Abra for Good Governance (CCAGGI).
The NewCAPP is implemented by the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The project seeks to expand the coverage of conservation areas through protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures. The NewCAPP considers that recognizing and supporting ICCAs as effective area-based conservation measures would greatly contribute to biodiversity conservation and in achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, specifically Target 11.
The participants were trained on basic community mapping and profiling, participatory resource appraisal, and natural resource inventory. The methodologies included instrumentation on Global Positioning System (GPS) and basic Geographic Information System (GIS) processing. The training was conducted by the Philippine Association for Intercultural Development (PAFID) in partnership with the Kalahan Educational Foundation (KEF). The KEF, a long time partner of PAFID, manages the first ever community forest recognized by the Philippine Government in 1974 which paved the way for the adoption of the community-based forest management scheme in the country. It is also pioneering the efforts on community-based forest carbon measurement and monitoring in the Philippines.
