Abaca Fiber and Rattan from the Forests of Mindanao, Philippines

by Biodiversity Conservation Network Staff

Project Overview

One of the few remaining habitats for the highly endangered Philippine eagle, Mindanao's Pantaron Range is also one of the nation's most critically important watersheds, giving rise to several major rivers, including the Pulangi, the Philippines' second largest river. The Pantaron Forest Management Project is adjacent to one of the ten sites the World Bank has identified as biodiversity priorities for the Philippines. Threats to the forest include conversion and overharvesting of resources.

ERD and its partners seek to counter these threats by working with a community of indigenous people, the Bukidnon, to improve their quality of life by marketing several non-timber forest products and obtaining more secure recognition of their ancestral lands. The project is assisting the community in marketing abaca fiber while making preparations to market rattan. These preparations include obtaining a rattan cutting license for the community, promoting sustainable rattan harvest practices, and developing the financial skills of community members.

This forest management project represents an attempt to formalize community-controlled rattan concessions, which will be an important step toward the sustainable use of this and other forest products. ERD is also laying the groundwork necessary for the indigenous people of the area to obtain a certificate of ancestral domain claim (CADC), the most binding form of recognition provided to indigenous communities by the Philippine government.

While ERD's activities focus on the project site in Bendum, it is also seeking to coordinate its efforts with other NGOs active in northern Mindanao to assist indigenous peoples to conserve the entire Pantaron Range. An innovative aspect of ERD's activities is its plan to document linkages between resource management and water availability. ERD believes that establishing this connection will encourage Philippine policy makers to provide more effective support for biologically diverse upland areas.

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