Non-Timber Forest Products-Exchange Programme Philippines (NTFP-EP Ph)
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Nature’s Heartbeat (Philippines)
Trust at the Frontlines
Anchoring local conservationists in the fabric of global conservation through trust-based funding and capacity strengthening.
Nature’s Heartbeat is a programme working across five countries and multiple Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) to strengthen locally-led conservation where it matters most: on the frontlines. The programme supports grassroots conservationists and organisations through flexible, trust-based funding paired with practical capacity strengthening so local leaders can plan, adapt, and act in fast-changing realities.
In the Philippines, Nature’s Heartbeat focuses on South Palawan, supporting local leadership to conserve and sustainably manage KBAs while strengthening collaboration across communities, civil society, and local governance.
Why this project
Frontline conservationists often know what works best but face chronic underfunding, heavy administrative burdens, and shrinking civic space. Nature’s Heartbeat responds by investing in local leadership, reducing red tape, and strengthening organisations for the long haul.
Where We Work — South Palawan
Nature’s Heartbeat Philippines is anchored in South Palawan, covering Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) including Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape, Victoria-Anepahan Mountain Range, and Mount Bulanjao (over 308,000+ hectares). These cultural landscapes are home to Indigenous Peoples including the Pala’wan and Tagbanua, and face pressures such as deforestation, mining threats, governance gaps, and climate impacts.
KBAs are globally important sites for biodiversity.
How We Work — Two Pathways
Nature’s Heartbeat works through two mutually reinforcing pathways: strengthening local conservationists and shifting the wider funding system toward trust-based support.
Pathway 1
Strong Conservationists
(Lead & Protect)
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Select and support local organisations (including Indigenous, women, and youth-led groups) through a balanced, transparent process.
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Provide flexible, unearmarked support plus tailored coaching, training, exchanges, and mentoring.
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Strengthen locally-designed conservation/restoration initiatives and link livelihoods to conservation (e.g., agroforestry and NTFP-based enterprises).
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Support participation in governance and policy spaces at KBA/provincial levels.
Pathway 2
Shift the System
(Resource & Sustain)
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Visibility for locally-led conservation, and help grow recognition of local actors in regional/global conservation spaces.
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Contribute to a practical standard for trust-based funding and engage funders to reduce barriers for frontline organisations.
What is Trust-Based Funding?
Trust-based funding is a partnership rooted in shared accountability and reduced control—designed so frontline organisations can breathe, adapt, and lead. It typically includes multi-year discretionary support, lighter application and reporting requirements, open communication and feedback loops, and support beyond money when needed.
Trust is not the absence of due diligence, it’s a different way of practicing it: clearer guardrails, peer accountability, and learning-focused reporting.
Theory of Change (Philippines)
By combining trust-based funding and capacity strengthening, Nature’s Heartbeat aims to support durable, locally-led conservation and climate resilience in South Palawan, where Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth can confidently lead initiatives, strengthen governance participation, and address threats in their landscapes.
Stories, Updates & Resources
Follow key milestones, workshops, partner stories, calls, and field updates as the programme moves from pitches to implementation.
From Pitches to Polished Proposals: How Palawan Communities Are Shaping Nature’s Heartbeat
Over the past few months, partners in Southern Palawan have been moving through the “project pitching” phase of the Nature’s Heartbeat project: surfacing community-led ideas, then strengthening and aligning them so they become clearer, more measurable, and rooted in the landscape’s real needs. This is how the first heartbeat of proposals begins: from the ground, rooted on the land.
Photo Gallery
Watch Videos
Nature's Heartbeat Orientation in Palawan (2025)
Contact & Credits
Nature’s Heartbeat is a joint project of Armonía Bolivia, A Rocha Ghana, ECOTRUST, NTFP-EP (Non-Timber Forest Products-Exchange Programme) and IUCN NL. The project is made possible by the Dutch Postcode Lottery.
For Nature’s Heartbeat Philippines updates and communications, you may contact info.philippines@ntfp.org.