In Sagpangan, Aborlan, Palawan, forest honey carries a living relationship between bees, flowering trees, rivers, Indigenous knowledge, women-led care, and a community enterprise that depends on keeping forests standing. What the Tagbanuas refer to as the hive of Omeli or Giant Bee Before wild forest honey reaches a bottle, it has already travelled through an entire living world. It begins with the flowering trees of a healthy forest, gathered by bees moving between blooms, water, hive, and home. It has its own ancient language, read through signs and knowledge passed down from generations of indigenous harvesters. These signs, such as the maturity of the comb, the season of flowering trees, and the health and proximity of the rivers translate the rhythms of a forest that flows at its own pace. In Sagpangan, Aborlan, Palawan, the Tagbanua members of the Samahan ng mga Katutubong Tagbanua sa Sagpangan (SAKTAS) Inc. know that forest honey is never ‘just a product.’ For the Indigenous Tagbaua Community, forest honey is part of life and is derived from the health of a forest itself. It is both food and livelihood. It is a measure of a forest’s biodiversity. It is knowledge passed down from elders. It is part of prayer, respect, and relationship with the forest. Today, through careful harvesting and hygienic processing, it has also become a community-based enterprise that shows how non-timber forest products can support dignified lives while keeping forests standing. NTFP-EP Philippines is exploring a new content series where we’ll show you the different NTFP stories in our country, and we begin this series with the story of Loreta Alsa, fondly known as Ate Inday, a 52-year-old Tagbanua woman, long-time member of SAKTAS and a member of the NTFP-EP Philippines Palawan team. She traces SAKTAS’ organizing and enterprise journeys to around three decades of community work. This long history runs alongside her own years of helping strengthen Indigenous livelihoods in Palawan. Discover her journey and her own indigenous community’s journey with wild forest honey. Their kinship with the forest shows a community continuing to protect the forest that gives. So, yung forest honey (at gubat), magkadugtong talaga siya. Kasi kung walang gubat, walang mga puno na namumulaklak. Kasi kahit may gubat, tapos kung walang mga puno namumulaklak, ay wala rin sisipsipin na mga nectar ang bubuyog. (Forest honey is truly interconnected with everything. If there is no forest, there are no flowering trees. And even if there is a forest, without flowering trees, there will be no nectar for the bees to gather.) For Ate Inday, forest honey is inseparable from the forest itself. If there are no flowering trees, bees have nowhere to gather nectar. If there are no bees, there is no honey. If this relationship breaks, one living thread connecting Tagbanua livelihood, culture, and forest care begins to loosen. The journey begins in a flowering forest A bottle of wild honey goes way beyond harvesting. It begins earlier, when the forest blooms. For bees, a healthy forest means food, shelter, water, and its compass. Flowering trees guide bees where to travel and what they gather. Rivers and streams allow them to drink and sustain the process where they transform nectar and pollen into honey. Among the Tagbanua, there is the story of the pukyutan, or Apis dorsata. This story carries this understanding of the indigenous community that they are one with the forest and the bees. In one telling, Parangat/team leader/Giant bee travels through the mountains to look for flowering trees. Once the blooms are found, Parangat returns to guide other bees. Some bees gather nectar; others guard the young; and others search for suitable places to stay and build for the future. Their homes are often found near rivers and streams. Told lightly, this story depicts the many relationships that form honey: these are the flowers, water, trees, seasons, shelter, protection, and a community or ecosystem of beings working together to sustain life. Ate Inday sees this same relationship in the forests around her. Kung maganda ang iyong biodiversity, maraming mga bubuyog ang naroon. Kasi kung walang mga puno na namumulaklak, hindi rin sila manirahan doon sa gubat na iyon. (When biodiversity is healthy, many bees can be found there. Without flowering trees, they would not live in that forest.) Photos taken by Ate Inday during a forest monitoring activity in February 2026 in Aborlan. While the presence of bees tells something about the health of the forest, their absence also holds meaning, and most often than not, a warning. Where flowering trees, water sources, and intact forest spaces are abundant; so will bees be able to continue their work. Where forests are degraded, rivers are harmed, or chemical use that threaten pollinators dominate; so does the forest honey’s journey become ever more uncertain. Forest honey may taste simple and sweet, but its journey to get to the bottle comes from complex and biodiverse relationships. Even one hive can reveal the forest’s abundance. During the honey season, Ate Inday shared that a single pukyutan hive can yield up to around 15 kilos of honey. But for SAKTAS, the richness of a harvest comes with safeguards to take only what is needed, so that the bees can return. Bees follow the water, the trees, and the seasons For Ate Inday, the connection between the bees and the forest can be observed in the trees, felt in the seasons, and seen along rivers. She recalls that elders know the role of different flowering trees in the life cycle of bees. Some trees support the formation of the hive and others offer nectar that becomes honey. Still, there are others that provide places where bees prefer to attach their homes. Water is essential. Pag wala na rin ilog, wala na rin talagang bees. Konektado silang lahat. (If the rivers disappear, so will the bees. They are all interconnected.) Photos taken by Ate Inday during a forest monitoring activity in February 2026 in Aborlan. For harvesters, the river may reveal signs that honey is near. Around riverbanks and stones, they’re able to observe traces connected to bees’ movements. These signs help them decipher whether a hive may be within the surrounding forest. This knowledge is deep and cannot be learned from a single manual. It is the Tagbanua traditional knowledge and practice carried through decades of attention. Walking the forest, listening to elders, observing flowering seasons, knowing the trees, knowing the river, knowing when the bees have arrived – to the learned Tagbanua, these are the different ways the forest communicates. With this way of seeing, they know that honey is produced not by bees alone. Forest honey is made possible by an entire forest community — from the healthy soil to the roots holding the soil, from rivers that give water to the flowering trees, from the bees that carry the pollen to the people who respect these intertwining lives belonging together. Before the harvest comes the pause. The community knows how to listen first. When the forest honey is ready, the next part of its journey begins not with immediate extraction, but with a pause. It begins through listening. Tagbanua harvesters know that the forest has its own timing. They watch the comb for signs of maturity. Ate Inday describes tutub as the mature, sealed portion of the honeycomb that signals the honey may already be harvested. Harvesters also look at the flowering and falling of certain tree species; they observe the season and understand that not every hive should be harvested immediately. Honey cannot be forcibly extracted. It arrives at its own time. The harvest must happen when the time is ripe. For SAKTAS, this careful attention is also intertwined with cultural respect. Before entering particular spaces in the forest or when gathering resources, there are rituals or certain practices to ask for permission first. There are prayers known only by the community and which are passed through generations. Mayroong secret prayer yung mga taong mag-harvest… Bago kami mag-harvest. (The people who harvest have a secret prayer… before we begin harvesting.) The prayer cannot be shared here in detail. But what’s important is what it reveals: that forest honey is not merely an object to be collected, but a relative and part of a living relationship. For the Tagbanua, the forest holds life because it has everything that their community needs to live and thrive – it has food, medicine, honey, memory, identity, wisdom and presences that require humility. Harvesting, for the community, is also recognizing that people are entering a world already alive with relationships. It begs to show that this sacredness is not beyond sustainability. In fact, it is one of its deepest roots and origins. This indigenous way of harvesting and respecting forest honey is one of the reasons why the forests of Palawan stand tall up to these modern times. When a community sees honey as something to receive part of its own community, something that’s there not simply to be extracted, restraint comes naturally. Care and safeguarding the forest becomes part of life. The future of the bees matters because the relationship matters. Harvesting honey without destroying the hive Once honey is ready, the harvesting process determines whether the journey can continue. As forest honey developed from household food into an enterprise product, SAKTAS strengthened harvesting practices to ensure that increased demand would not mean the destruction of the bees that make the livelihood possible. Harvesters are taught not to take the entire hive. They gather the mature honey portion while leaving behind the young bees and the parts needed for the colony to survive and return. Ate Inday explaining how honey is extarcted without harming the bees. Kunin lang ang parte ng comb na may honey upang mapagkunan muli. (Take only the part of the honeycomb that contains honey, so the hive can continue producing for future harvests.) This is one of the clearest expressions of sustainable harvest: take what can be taken, while leaving life enough room to continue. Ate Inday also contrasts Tagbanua harvesting practices with destructive methods sometimes used elsewhere. Instead of burning the hive and killing the bees, harvesters use traditional smoke to gently move them away from the comb. Hindi talaga siya susunugin. So may pamamaraan. Mayroon kaming traditional na smoke… mahihilo lang siya yung bees. So hindi siya mamamatay. (We do not burn it. There is a proper way to harvest. We use traditional smoke… it only makes the bees dizzy, so they are not killed.) The knowledge is both practical and ethical. The bees are recognized as the very beings making future harvests possible and not merely obstacles to harvest. This is the heart of responsableng pag-aani or responsible harvesting. It goes beyond producing honey for one season; it is about ensuring that the bees, forests, livelihoods, and stories remain alive for many more seasons that follow the current harvest season. From wild comb to clean honey After the forest and the bees have done their part, and after harvesters have gathered honey responsibly, the next stage of the journey happens at the community level: processing. SAKTAS’ honey remains wild forest honey, gathered from bees that forage freely among the flowers and flowering trees of Palawan’s forests. Its purity comes from its forest origin and from a process that protects this pure quality. Ate Inday remembers a time when honey was primarily gathered for household food. It was squeezed by hand and stored in locally available containers, including traditional forest-based materials such as palm and bamboo. Kasi noon, ano lang eh, katutubong pagkain lang namin yun. (Back then, it was simply part of our traditional Indigenous food.) Bee hive spotted during a forest monitoring activity in Aborlan (February 2026) Honey was eaten with cassava, banana, and other available food from the forest. Beeswax and honeycomb also had value in cultural practices, including those connected to planting and prayer. But when honey became part of a community enterprise and began reaching consumers beyond the community, SAKTAS needed a more systematic way to maintain cleanliness, quality, and consumer safety. Through capacity building and technical support involving NTFP-EP Philippines and partner organizations, SAKTAS strengthened its harvesting and processing system. Honeycomb is now handled using cleaner collection methods and brought to the collection center, where trained community members manage the processing. The comb is cut and allowed to drip naturally and not carelessly squeezed. Leaves and other debris are removed. Equipment such as knives and containers are increasingly stainless. Bottles and containers are sterilized. Community Enterprise development team members have received training in hygiene and Good Manufacturing Practices. For Ate Inday, this amount of care and cleanliness in the processing of forest honey reflects the nature of the bees themselves. Ang bees ay napaka-clean, malinis talaga. Kaya sinisikap din natin na yung honey natin na aani mula sa kanila, pagdating sa baba, yung process ay dapat malinis din. (Bees are very clean, truly clean. That is why we also make sure that the honey we harvest from them is handled cleanly once it is brought down to the market, the processing should also be clean.) A portrait of Loreta 'Inday' Alsa (May 2026) This is what makes SAKTAS’ forest honey more than a raw product gathered from the wild. It is wild honey handled through community care, strengthened protocols, and disciplined hygienic processing. It carries the story of the bees and the forest into the bottle without losing respect for where it came from. Gusto namin na makita nila yung totoong may kalidad na honey… dapat inaalam nila kung ano yung proseso ng honey mula doon sa pinanggalingan at kung ito ba ay malinis o hindi. (We want people to see what truly good-quality honey is… They should learn about the process the honey goes through, from where it comes from to whether it has been handled cleanly.) For consumers, this is an invitation to ask deeper questions. Not only: Is this honey sweet? But: Where did it come from? Were the bees protected in the harvesting process? Was the honey processed cleanly? Did the community that cared for the forest benefit from it? Because not every bottle of honey carries the same intimate relationship with the forest and its inhabitants. From food and culture to community enterprise Forest honey has long been part of Tagbanua life. Through SAKTAS, it also became part of a larger journey toward community voice, livelihood, and recognition. Ate Inday recalls that SAKTAS grew within a wider period of Indigenous organizing in Palawan, when communities sought to respond to discrimination and to the lack of recognition and support they experienced from institutions. Organizing into community associations created a way for Indigenous Peoples to speak collectively about their rights, needs, livelihoods, and future. Sabi ng pari, mag-buo tayo. Kasi pag nag-buo tayo ng mga samahan sa bawat komunidad, baka mapakinggan tayo ng ating gobyerno, ano man ang mga hinaing natin. (The priest advised to form a group. Because if we create a group in every community, the government is bound to listen to us, whatever our concerns are.) SAKTAS’ honey enterprise grew from this spirit of collective work. The scale of honey in Sagpangan has also shown what a healthy forest can provide. Ate Inday recalls that in 2013, NATRIPAL alone collected around 12 tons of honey from Sagpangan, aside from honey that moved through other channels. More than a production figure, this was a living measure of a landscape able to sustain flowering trees, bees, harvesters, and community livelihood together. During the current honey season, Ate Inday estimated that around 20 tons of honey may already have come out of the area, indicating the forest’s continued abundance and the scale of livelihood it is able to support. Through forest honey, community members gained an additional livelihood source connected to knowledge they already carried. Honey harvests have helped families meet everyday needs, provide for children, improve homes, and create value from the forest without cutting it down. But because honey is seasonal, challenges like markets, capital, transport, permits, and regulations still affect whether communities can fairly sell what they sustainably harvest. For Indigenous community enterprises, conservation alone is not enough; support systems must also recognize and enable their right to benefit from responsibly managed forest resources. Ate Inday explains the relationship plainly: Pag bumili talaga ng honey, bukod sa nagbibigay ka ng kabuhayan doon sa mga katutubo, ay ma-sustain talaga yung gubat. (When you buy honey, you are not only providing livelihood for Indigenous communities; you are also helping sustain the forest.) When consumers support sustainably harvested forest honey, they are not only purchasing a product. They are helping sustain a livelihood that has reason to keep forests healthy, flowers blooming, rivers protected, and bees returning. This is why forest honey matters to the work of NTFP-EP Philippines. It brings together three inseparable areas of community life: Community-Based Livelihoods and Enterprise Development through dignified and ecologically responsible income; Community-Based Conservation and Resource Management through harvesting practices that depend on and encourage healthy forests; and Safeguarding Culture through knowledge, values, traditions, and relationships carried by the Tagbanua community. Forest honey is livelihood, conservation, and culture that is alive in practice. The women who carry honey forward Ate Inday’s story also reveals the work of Indigenous women in sustaining community enterprises. Women are often present in the many careful stages that help a forest product become a dignified community product: organizing, processing, cleanliness, quality control, training, storytelling, marketing, and protecting the meaning behind what is sold. For Ate Inday, working with SAKTAS and other Indigenous community enterprise efforts strengthened not only her knowledge, but also her pride in her own identity. A portrait of Loreta 'Inday' Alsa (May 2026) Mas proud ako sa pagiging katutubo ko, kasi… marami akong naishe-share na kaalaman, na dapat ganito yung gawin natin, para ang produkto natin mabenta. (I am prouder than ever for being Indigenous because I have so much knowledge to share, knowledge about how we should practice things so that our products can be sold.) She has walked to communities, supported trainings, shared what she learned, and worked to help Indigenous products become more recognized for their value and quality. In doing so, the journey of forest honey also became part of her own journey as a Tagbanua woman. When asked how she would describe her journey, her answer came with warmth and certainty: Katutubo ako, kayang-kaya ko. (I am indigenous, and I am capable.) While a personal statement from Ate Inday, it also holds the strength of many Indigenous women whose knowledge and labor keep community enterprises alive. These women understand that producing a good bottle of forest honey is also an act of caring for relationships with buyers, with family, with community, with bees, and with the forest. In the hands of women like Ate Inday, forest honey becomes a statement: our knowledge has value; our livelihoods deserve support; our forests are alive because communities continue to care for them. What a bottle of forest honey asks of us By the end of the journey, forest honey reaches consumers as something golden, fragrant, and sweet, but behind every bottle of SAKTAS’ wild forest honey, we now know that: There is a flowering tree. There is a river that still runs clean. There are bees that found a home. There are elders whose wisdom continue through the next generation. There are harvesters who know to take only what the hive can give. There are women who help keep the product clean and connected to community life. There is a forest that must remain standing for the journey to begin again. Ate Inday imagines what the bees themselves might ask of people: Kung ako si bubuyog, wag niyong sirain ang gubat. Lalo’t higit ang mga namumulaklak na mga puno na pinagkukunan namin na mga nectar para maging honey. At ingatan niyo din ang ilog. (If I were a bee, I would say: do not destroy the forest, especially the flowering trees from which we gather nectar to make honey. And please take care of the river, too.) This May, as we feature forest honey as one of the living non-timber forest products of Indigenous communities in the Philippines, SAKTAS reminds us that honey comes from an interwoven ecosystem of relationships between forest and river, flower and bee, knowledge and respect, culture and livelihood, women and community, harvesting and protection. And to support sustainably harvested community forest honey is to honor this web. When you buy sustainably harvested community forest honey, it is to support sustainable livelihoods, it is to sustain forests standing tall, and it is to recognize that Indigenous Peoples are knowledge holders and forest stewards. Forest honey begins with relationships of bees, blooms, and water. It continues through Indigenous knowledge and responsible hands, and it returns once again as a reason for the forest to remain alive.

A Philippine Environment Month Youth Story | Nature’s Heartbeat Philippines On World Environment Day, one month after a peaceful anti-mining rally in Brooke’s Point, Palawan, an Indigenous youth leader reminds us that conservation is also the courage to stand, speak, and protect what gives life. Portrait of Pelawan youth leader Mhar Dubria of Brooke’s Point, Palawan, Chairperson of UGNAYIN PH On May 4, 2026, Indigenous youth and community members gathered in front of the municipal hall of Brooke’s Point, Palawan, to peacefully call for the protection of their forests, farms, waters, and future from mining expansion. Among them was Mamilmar “Mhar” M. Dubria Jr., a Pelawan/Palaw’an youth leader from Brooke’s Point and the current Chairperson of the Ugnayin National Indigenous Youth Network Philippines (UGNAYIN PH). For Mhar, the rally is part of an ongoing journey that began years earlier: first with questions about his own Indigenous identity, then with the stories and struggles of his elders, then through youth organizing, learning spaces, community work, and finally, a public commitment to stand with other young people for the forests that continue to sustain their lives. As the Philippines observes Philippine Environment Month, and as the world marks World Environment Day, Mhar’s story asks an urgent question: What does it truly mean to conserve nature when communities are already defending it from destruction? For Mhar, conservation is not limited to planting trees or protecting what remains after damage has already been done. It also means preventing harm; standing beside communities before forests become excavation sites, before rivers carry silt downstream, before fear becomes the inheritance of another generation. Mahalaga kasi yung mga peaceful rally. Mahalaga siya sa conservation. Bakit? Kasi unang-una, ang pag-protekta sa kalikasan, hindi yung dahil nagtanim ka lang ng puno, hindi dahil hindi mo kinalbo ang puno, kasama na rin doon yung panawagan. (Peaceful rallies matter to conservation. Why? Because protecting nature is not only about planting a tree or choosing not to cut one down; it also involves making the call be heard.) Photos of the May 4 peacefull rally held in front of Brooke's Point Municipal Office (photos from the Municipal Information Office - LGU Brooke's Point Facebook account) The Beginning of a Voice Mhar grew up in Brooke’s Point with roots from both his father’s Bisaya family and his mother’s Pelawan/Palaw’an community. As a child, he did not immediately understand himself as Indigenous. It was only in high school, while answering questions about his parents’ backgrounds, that he began to recognize his mother’s identity as Pelawan/ Palaw’an, and through her, a part of himself that he would later choose to know more deeply. Photo of Mamilmar Dubria, Jr. from the I-Yes Camp 2025 proudly wearing indigenous cultural attire That realization awakened a curiosity in him. He began learning about his Indigenous community, the difficulties many families faced, and the sacrifices of relatives and elders who had long defended their land and forests. He remembered seeing his grandparents and other family members stand for the community at a time when only few young people appeared ready to follow. At one point, Mhar tried to turn away from this path. He focused on school and on the possibility of building a more conventional future for himself. His parents worried that advocacy might place his opportunities and his safety at risk. But the questions did not leave him. Neither did the pull of the community. Pero hindi yun yung calling ko. Parang iniisip ko talaga na ang calling ko bilang isang katutubong kabataan ay tumulong magserbisyo para sa komunidad. (That was not my calling. I truly felt that my calling as an Indigenous youth was to help serve the community.) For Mhar, being Indigenous gradually became more than ancestry. It became responsibility. To know that the forest gives food, medicine, livelihood, memory, ritual, and identity was also to know that remaining silent while it is destroyed would mean abandoning a part of oneself. From Service to Leadership Before leading a national network, Mhar began with small acts of community service. Around 2017, he was involved in a local youth organization whose members went up to Indigenous communities on weekends to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. Believing that public service could help him do more, he later ran for and became an elected Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) leader. Soon after, he was invited to a youth camp in Brooke’s Point, where he met other people working on Indigenous rights and environmental protection. That gathering opened a wider world for him: a space where his questions, values, and desire to serve could be sharpened into action. Over the years, Mhar became involved in youth organizing in Palawan and eventually in the Ugnayin National Indigenous Youth Network Philippines (UGNAYIN PH), a national network of Indigenous youth organizations and leaders formed to advance Indigenous youth concerns on rights, environment, livelihood, culture, education, and health. Through learning spaces, camps, trainings, and exchanges supported under the Green Livelihoods Alliance – Forests for a Just Future Programme, Mhar developed not only the confidence to speak but also the discipline to listen, assess risks, study policies, understand community processes, and help create space for other young people to participate. Photos from the I-YES Camp 2025 This transformation mattered in concrete moments. During community processes related to mining, Mhar and fellow youth leaders helped gather and mentor other young people so they could better understand processes such as Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), document community concerns, observe proceedings, and contribute to petitions supported by evidence. The change in him became clearer: From wanting to represent a community, he was molded to wanting to help his generation find their own voice. Carrying the Call Through the Airwaves Mhar’s advocacy today continues beyond rallies and meetings. Every week, his voice also travels through the airwaves of Palawan. Mhar currently hosts Bantay Kalikasan, an environmental radio program aired through DZIP 864 Radyo Palaweño, based in Puerto Princesa City, and livestreamed on the station’s Facebook page. Through the program, he discusses environmental issues affecting Palawan and creates space for people to better understand the struggles, responsibilities, and hopes surrounding the island’s forests and communities. Bantay Kalikasan May 30 episode (screenshot taken from the Radyo Palaweno Facebook page) For an Indigenous youth leader who once spoke about needing courage to stand and be heard, the radio program reflects how far his journey has come. His voice now reaches beyond gatherings and community processes. It enters homes, mobile phones, social media feeds, and public conversations across Palawan, where he invites the program’s listeners to see environmental protection as a shared responsibility. From time to time, Mhar also uses the platform to bring forward the work of UGNAYIN PH and the perspectives of other Indigenous youth in Palawan. In an episode aired after the I-YES Camp 2026, UGNAYIN PH Secretary Monitte Lantas, together with fellow youth guests, shared about their engagements during the camp, including their meeting with the National Youth Commission, their visit to the House of Representatives, and the continuing efforts of Indigenous youth to bring their concerns into government spaces. Bantay Kalikasan May 30 episode (screenshot taken from the Radyo Palaweno Facebook page) This is also part of a bigger conservation: defending forests on the ground also goes hand in hand with ensuring that communities are informed, youth voices are amplified, and environmental issues are spoken about in places where public understanding and collective action can grow. In this sense, the May 4 rally also belonged to a wider practice of standing, speaking, listening, and making space for others, from places like the front of Brooke’s Point’s municipal halls, to events within UGNAYIN PH, or behind the microphone of Bantay Kalikasan. When the Mountain Is Life, Mining Is Lived Reality for Indigenous Communities Brooke’s Point is part of Southern Palawan, a landscape of globally significant biodiversity and living Indigenous territories. It is also among the places facing persistent pressure from mining. In March 2025, the Provincial Government of Palawan adopted a 50-year moratorium on endorsements for new mining applications, including endorsements for exploration permits, mining agreements, and financial or technical assistance agreements. The measure was welcomed by communities and advocates as a significant victory after years of organizing. However, a moratorium on new endorsements did not automatically stop all mining threats. Existing mining operations had not been closed by the ordinance and certain renewals and activities may fall outside of its restrictions. In 2026, environmental advocates continued to raise concerns over ongoing applications, proposed expansions, local endorsements, tree-cutting permits, and the incomplete establishment of the monitoring and oversight mechanisms envisioned under the ordinance. In Brooke’s Point, these gaps affected community experiences with anxiety over forests, farms, rivers, ancestral lands, and safety. Public reporting in 2026 has described continued controversy around mining operations and proposed expansion in the municipality, alongside community concerns about possible environmental impacts. Mining operators have disputed claims that their activities are directly responsible for reported damage. This is why, for Mhar and other Indigenous youth, the question cannot simply be whether mining contributes economically. The deeper question is: What kind of development can be called progress if the people who live closest to the forest carry the risks while others take the gains? Mahalaga ang pag-unlad, mahalaga din ang pagmimina, pero mas mahalaga ang buhay. (Development is important. Mining is also important, but life is more important.) Mhar speaks of development not as roads, buildings, or wealth accumulating in only a few hands, but as a community’s ability to live with dignity, security, food, culture, and a healthy environment. For him, mining in the natural forests and ancestral landscapes of Brooke’s Point threatens precisely the foundations that allow Indigenous communities to live and thrive over generations. A Forest Is Not an ATM Mhar’s understanding of the forest comes from a worldview that refuses to reduce land to profit alone. In his community, the forest is not simply a collection of resources awaiting extraction. It is where food is grown and gathered; where sacred places are held; where practices, stories, and relationships with the land continue, and a living space that sustains both livelihood and culture. This is also the heart of Nature’s Heartbeat Philippines, which supports locally-led conservation in South Palawan, including landscapes such as the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (MMPL), the Victoria-Anepahan Mountain Range (VAMR), and Mount Bulanjao. These territories are not simply biodiversity-rich areas, but are also as importantly, cultural landscapes where Indigenous communities continue to steward forests facing threats from mining, deforestation, governance gaps, and climate change. Seen through Mhar’s story, youth participation in a peaceful rally is deeply linked to conservation. It is conservation in action. It is the defense of a living landscape before it is turned into an afterthought of development. Bakit naman natin sinasabi na dapat ang kagubatan ay buhay at hindi ATM? Kasi nga, tayong mga katutubo, tinitignan natin ang kagubatan bilang nagsusupply ng buhay sa atin, pero yung mga mayayamang tao, yung mga investors, tinitignan nila yan bilang ATM. (Why do we say the forest is life and not an ATM? Because we Indigenous Peoples see the forest as supplying life to us, but wealthy people, investors, see it as an ATM.) The contrast is crystal clear. People go to Automated Teller Machines (ATM) to withdraw money. Indigenous peoples approach the living forest with relationship, gratitude, responsibility, and the knowledge that taking everything today leaves nothing for tomorrow. From Brooke’s Point to a National Youth Agenda Today, Mhar’s leadership continues in many forms: in community mobilizations against mining, through weekly public conversations on Bantay Kalikasan, and as Chairperson of UGNAYIN PH, where he helps carry the concerns of Indigenous youth from different landscapes across the Philippines. Formed in 2022 by Indigenous youth leaders from Sierra Madre, Palawan, Visayas, and Mindanao, UGNAYIN PH brings together youth groups working for forest conservation, Indigenous rights recognition, safeguarding culture, education, livelihood, and health. At the center of its advocacy is the Diliman Declaration, developed by Indigenous youth during the 2023 I-YES Camp. The declaration names a reality faced by many young Indigenous people – uncertainty that they will inherit healthy, safe, and secure ancestral lands and forests. It calls on government, civil society, and the private sector to recognize Indigenous youth as partners in protecting nature and ancestral domains; to strengthen their participation in decision-making bodies; to respect Indigenous rights; and to support laws and mechanisms that protect forests and community-conserved territories. Photos from the I-YES Camp 2026 held from May 18 to May 22 in Quezon City With current support from Synchronicity Earth, UGNAYIN PH is continuing to advance this Indigenous youth agenda through the Diliman Declaration. Following the I-YES Camp 2026, youth representatives also engaged government institutions, including the National Youth Commission, where Usec. Jeff Ortage himself attended and discussed a partnership for Indigenous youth, and Cong. Mauricio Domogan at the House of Representatives, as part of their continuing efforts to bring Indigenous youth realities and recommendations into policy conversations. These engagements were later shared by fellow youth through an episode of Bantay Kalikasan, extending the conversation from formal government spaces back to the public. This national work returns, again and again, to local realities like Brooke’s Point. The peaceful mining rally on May 4 is among the many parts of the mission of UGNAYIN PH and its members. The peaceful rally was also the Diliman Declaration integrated through Indigenous youth standing for the right to inherit a future with forests still capable of sustaining life. What the Youth Choose to Inherit Mhar does not deny that standing for the environment can be difficult. In his interview last year, he spoke about fears faced by young advocates, including intimidation, threats, and red-tagging when they speak publicly for nature and their communities. But hope does not escape the youth leader. Seeing more and more young people joining the call, learning to speak, and realizing that the work of protecting land cannot belong only to elders is hope in action. For Mhar, the task of Indigenous youth isn’t just to sit quietly and passively; the task is to begin solving the intergenerational problem of environmental destruction in the present, so that future generations can have lives living abundantly within forests that remain alive. His dream for Brooke’s Point is simple yet immense: that ten or twenty years from now, the municipality’s forests will remain thriving; that children will grow up without fearing every heavy rain or flood; that communities will feel safe; and that Indigenous culture will remain rooted in the mountains that have always sustained it. On World Environment Day, Mhar’s story is a stark reminder that environmental protection is not just protection on paper, but about listening to the communities already protecting them. Conservation is also ensuring that youth who speak for forests are welcomed with pride, recognition, safety, and support. Portrait of Pelawan youth leader Mhar Dubria of Brooke’s Point, Palawan, Chairperson of UGNAYIN PH Environmental advocacy is understanding what youth like Mhar has come to know his whole life: Para sa mga katutubong kabataan, ang kagubatan ay BUHAY. (For Indigenous youth, the forest is LIFE.) Acknowledgements and References This youth story feature is produced in connection with Nature’s Heartbeat Philippines, which supports locally-led conservation in South Palawan through strengthened Indigenous and community leadership. Mhar’s leadership journey and earlier story documentation were developed through UGNAYIN PH engagements supported under the Green Livelihoods Alliance – Forests for a Just Future Programme (2021–2025). Primary interview references: Interview with Mamilmar “Mhar” M. Dubria Jr. for the Green Livelihoods Alliance, 10 July 2025 Interview with Mamilmar “Mhar” M. Dubria Jr. for Nature’s Heartbeat Philippines, 8 May 2026 Supporting references: UGNAYIN PH, Diliman Declaration, November 2023 UGNAYIN PH, About UGNAYIN PH and Master Information document, 2025–2026 NTFP-EP Philippines, World Day of Social Justice: Why Palawan’s 50-Year Mining Moratorium Still Matters (and What’s Happening Now), February 2026 Environmental Legal Assistance Center, Palawan Mining Moratorium at a Crossroads, March 2026 United Nations Environment Programme, World Environment Day 2026 DZIP 864 Radyo Palaweño, Bantay Kalikasan Facebook Live episodes featuring Mhar Dubria and Indigenous youth guests, March–May 2026, including the 23 May 2026 episode featuring Monitte Lantas, Jonavie Nais, Glaiza Mae Sindol and Belle Reyes

From May 18–22, 2026, 17 Indigenous youth leaders from Sierra Madre, Palawan, Occidental Mindoro, Negros Occidental and Mindanao gathered in Quezon City for I-YES Camp 2026. Organized by the Ugnayin National Indigenous Youth Network Philippines (UGNAYIN PH) with support from NTFP-EP Philippines (Non-Timber Forest Products-Exchange Programme), the camp marked an important shift from strengthening the network internally to bringing the Diliman Declaration into national policy spaces. Years of gathering, learning and organizing UGNAYIN PH was formally formed in 2022 by 20 Indigenous youth leaders from Sierra Madre, Palawan, Visayas and Mindanao. However, its roots stretch back through years of Indigenous youth gatherings supported by NTFP-EP Philippines. From youth camps in Palawan in 2017–2018 and the National ICCA Youth Camp in 2019, to the 2021 e-camp, the formation of UGNAYIN PH in 2022, and succeeding I-YES Camps, these gatherings gradually created spaces for youth to learn about forests and ancestral domains, exchange cultures and community realities, strengthen leadership, and organize across landscapes. In 2023, 18 Indigenous youth from 12 Indigenous communities took another step: they developed and signed the Diliman Declaration, bringing together their shared realities and calls under five interconnected areas – rights, culture, environment, education and livelihood, and health. READ THE DILIMAN DECLARATION: The Declaration is significant because it gives Indigenous youth from various different communities a shared national agenda. It connects their everyday realities, from threats to ancestral lands and disappearing languages to limited participation and access to education, with concrete calls for government recognition, stronger Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices, meaningful youth participation, environmental protection and rights-based policies. By 2026, the next step was clear, and it was to bring that youth agenda to decision-makers. Before the camp formally opened, UGNAYIN PH’s Board of Trustees spent two days preparing for government engagement on May 18-19. They refined their Diliman Declaration presentation, reviewed letters to government agencies, studied a Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) memorandum on local participation, practiced their presentation, and adopted resolutions strengthening the network’s governance and accreditation processes. During the camp, participants revisited the five issues at the heart of the Declaration: rights, culture, environment, education and livelihood, and health. They also reviewed security protocols before entering public advocacy spaces. The youth then brought their calls to the House of Representatives the next day, May 20, where they met Committee Secretary Adora Pueblo and Congressman Mauricio Domogan, Chair of the House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples. They shared concerns around Indigenous youth participation, ancestral lands, culture, education and environmental protection, and later during the day, observed a plenary session. For many of these young people, it was their first direct experience of Congress. As Lyn Gie Barato of Balicotoc Indigenous Youth Organization (BIYO) reflected, “We need to be proud of ourselves bilang IP.” That evening, songs, dances, poetry and cultural sharing brought the different landscapes together, grounding the advocacy work in identity, community and solidarity. On the following day (May 21) back at the camp, youth deepened their skills in lobbying, negotiation and stakeholder power analysis. From this, they learned how to turn community realities into concrete and actionable advocacy goals. At the same time, youth were able to identify the people and institutions that could help move those concerns forward. One of the camp’s strongest outcomes emerged during a dialogue with the National Youth Commission (NYC) led by Chairperson and CEO Usec. Jeff Ortega. The conversation opened several possible partnership directions: convergence with YORP-registered Indigenous youth organizations, UGNAYIN PH representation in NYC external task force meetings, a future Memorandum of Agreement, access to NYC Studios and meeting venues, capacity-building and mental health support, and possible mechanisms for supporting Indigenous youth initiatives through resolutions and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) funding channels. This year’s camp also strengthened UGNAYIN PH itself. PAMALIHI CADT Inc. was recognized as a new member organization, member groups began preparing local lobbying plans, and UGNAYAN Talks moved forward as another platform for Indigenous youth stories and advocacy to be told. More than a national gathering, I-YES Camp 2026 became a bridge. From years of youth organizing to national advocacy, from declaration to dialogue, and from community realities to clearer pathways for participation. The work now is to keep those pathways open. The I-YES Camp 2026 was co-organized by UGNAYIN PH with support from NTFP-EP Philippines and made possible through funding support from Synchronicity Earth.

From Youth Vision to Mangrove Conservation: How Monitte Lantas and Indigenous youth organization NKKN are turning advocacy and local knowledge into a youth-led mangrove conservation effort in Narra, Palawan Monitte Lantas, Tagbanwa youth leader and president of Nagkakaisang Kabataang Katutubo ng Narra (NKKN), South Palawan Answers have been edited for brevity. In Southern Palawan, where forested mountains lean toward the sea, Narra holds many kinds of memory. Some are carried by elders, some by young people learning to document what the elders know, and some by the coast itself; by the places where mangroves once stood thicker, cooler, and louder with life. A view of the South Palawan landscape from a Nature’s Heartbeat activity venue in Brooke’s Point, Palawan For Monitte Lantas, a Tagbanwa youth leader and president of the Nagkakaisang Kabataang Katutubo ng Narra (NKKN), mangroves and their conservation are not merely targets, they are part of memory, of childhood, and of identity. Today, at 24, she is helping turn those memories into action as president of NKKN, an Indigenous youth organization designing its own response to the changes unfolding along Narra’s coast. She remembers accompanying her parents to the shore more than 10 years ago, when crabs were still plentiful and large enough for one family’s meal. Sometimes, she recalls, one crab could weigh up to one and two kilos. The land where the ocean and river meet amongst the groves had seagrasses underfoot, shells littered along the coast, and the familiar, comforting sounds of small creatures in the mangroves at dusk. Now, Monitte says, in a melancholy, that the place feels different, like something is missing. Unti-unti na siyang nawawala… dati, ang dami pang nakikita. (Little by little, it is disappearing… before, we used to see so much.) A mangrove area in Narra, South Palawan, an ecosystem that Indigenous youth of NKKN hope to protect and restore Monitte does not solely name one reason. In a conversation, the 24-year-old spoke of habitat loss, the heat from a changing climate, the disappearance of seagrass, and the decline of marine life in places where coastal ecosystems have been disturbed. In a country where mangrove cover has fallen from an estimated 450,000 hectares in 1920 to around 311,400 hectares in recent statistics, NKKN’s concern is part of a much wider story of coastal loss, but it begins, as many urgent things do, in one familiar place. NKKN itself began recently, in 2021, when around 15 Indigenous youth in Narra first gathered through a meeting led by NTFP-EP Philippines. Monitte entered without knowing an organization would be formed. She first served as secretary, then later became president. Before NKKN, Monitte couldn’t find any Indigenous youth organizations in Narra. Like mangroves, the group started small, with its young roots finding anchor in difficult ground. Before the Nature’s Heartbeat project, NKKN carried out coastal clean-ups, tree planting, outreach programs, and youth empowerment activities, mostly through volunteer work. Through these, more young people began asking how they could join, with members encouraging other young indigenous peers to take part. Even younger children, aged 11 to 14, wanted to be involved, their parents also asking for their children to become members. Monitte Lantas and a fellow NKKN participant during a Nature’s Heartbeat activity in South Palawan When Nature’s Heartbeat gave NKKN space to identify the conservation work they believed their community needed, the youth returned to something they already knew was disappearing. For Nature’s Heartbeat, NKKN chose a mangrove conservation project covering around five hectares in Barangays Antipuluan and Aramaywan, with the goal of planting around 2,000 seedlings and strengthen at least 50 Indigenous youth. The project includes hands-on training on restoring mangroves, climate change and biodiversity, environmental leadership, mapping and geotagging, and advocacy campaigning. The work is not only about planting the Bakawan (mangroves), it involves learning the proper way of planting to increase survival rates, monitoring seedling growth and survival, mapping conservation areas, documenting changes, and empowering Indigenous youth to be more visible in conservation spaces too. NKKN aims to connect with the local government units (LGUs), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), foresters, academe, local communities, NGOs, and IP elders who can guide knowledge transfer and keep the project grounded on scientific, community-based, and indigenous ways. Nature’s Heartbeat participants take part in a learning activity supporting locally led conservation in South Palawan For Monitte, youth-led conservation is also a way of resisting silence — the silence of disappearing mangroves, and the silence imposed when Indigenous youth are afraid to speak. Her story challenges the familiar notion of young people as the “next generation” of environmental leaders. In Narra, youth are already documenting community knowledge, joining conservation work, organizing their peers, engaging the government, and now, they’re designing their own conservation projects. She wants people to understand that being active in environmental work is not something to fear or stigmatize. It is, she said, with her head held high, pro-life, always rooted in active non-violence. For Monitte, Indigenous youth are not only future conservation leaders, they are already organizing and acting for their landscapes today We asked what the mangroves would say if they could speak, and Monitte answered giving voice to the shore itself: Sana ay mabigyan niyo ako ng panahon at oras para gumaling ako, dahil ang dami ko nang sugat. (I hope that you would allow me time and space to heal, because I am already covered with so many wounds.) And perhaps that is what NKKN’s proposal is really asking for: time for mangroves to grow again, time for indigenous youth to lead, and time for a wounded coast to be heard before it becomes quiet for good. Nature’s Heartbeat is a joint project of Armonía Bolivia, A Rocha Ghana, ECOTRUST, NTFP-EP and IUCN NL. The project is made possible by the Postcode Lottery.

For Palaw’an woman leader Myra Tayaw, conservation begins with everyday relationships. It is with forests, water, livelihood, community, and the courage to speak. “Kapag hindi kayo nagsalita, wala tayong mangyayari.” (If you don’t speak up, nothing will happen.) For Myra S. Tayaw, those words come from experience. Myra is a Palaw’an woman from Isugod, Quezon, Palawan, and the chairperson of Konseho Alay sa Babae (KABABAE). She remembers a time when her world was largely “nasa apat na sulok lang po ako ng bahay.” (within the four walls of our home.) Today, she leads women in her community, listens to their concerns, and helps bring their voices into conversations affecting their lives and surroundings. Her leadership is rooted in a relationship with nature that is both practical and inherited. Dito po kami namumuhay, dito nakabase yung aming kabuhayan. (This is where we live, and where our livelihood comes from.) The forest and surrounding environment provide food, medicinal plants, materials, and livelihood. Myra remembers learning to take only what was needed from the forest and coast, where her family has enough for the day, rather than more than they could use. To her, these everyday practices are also ways of conserving what others depend on. For indigenous women, that relationship shapes how they participate in decisions about water and natural resources. Myra describes herself as a bridge for concerns other women may hesitate to voice: “Ginagawa kang boses para maging daan para sa kanila.” (You become their voice to pave a way for their concerns to be heard.) At one recent gathering, she found more than 20 women participating, compared with around six in earlier meetings. Her message to them was simple: “Mag-voice out kayo… magsalita.” (Speak up… let your voices be heard.) Through Nature’s Heartbeat, KABABAE is exploring honey as a livelihood connected to caring for forests and bee habitat. Its initial two-year proposal sets concrete goals through one consolidated honey-based enterprise. KABABAE’s plan at a glance 7 member community groups 7 honey-source conservation sites 3 planned nurseries × 2,500 seedlings ₱500,000 + enterprise sales target Targets from KABABAE’s initial two-year Nature’s Heartbeat proposal. The work is also strengthening the organisation behind the conservation. For Myra, that has meant entering unfamiliar territory – from proposals to budgeting, to resolutions, and managing funds for the first time. She is learning as she leads, while insisting that leadership remain collective: “Pantay kami, so share-share ng mga kaalaman, teamwork.” (We are all equal, so we share our knowledge and work as a team.) Nature’s Heartbeat supports locally led conservation through flexible, trust-based funding and tailored capacity strengthening, giving grassroots organisations room to pursue priorities rooted in their own landscapes. For Myra, the reason to keep learning, organising, and conserving is simple: so the resources they depend on will still be there “para sa susunod na henerasyon.” (for the next generation.) On the International Day of Indigenous Women, her story reminds us that women’s leadership in conservation is not emerging from nowhere, it is already growing from the ground. Nature’s Heartbeat is a joint project of Armonía Bolivia, A Rocha Ghana, ECOTRUST, NTFP-EP Asia and IUCN NL. The project is made possible by the Postcode Lottery.

From the forest, without cutting a tree When Joel Pardas was young, his father would take him into the mountains of Aborlan, Palawan. Sama ka sa bundok para manguha tayo ng almaciga para makilala mo ito. (Come with me to the mountains so we can harvest almaciga and so you can learn to recognize the tree.) Come to the forest. Learn the tree. For Joel, now president of Nagkakaisang Tribu sa sitio Tina (NATRITI), that was how his relationship with almaciga began. Through his father and other elders, he learned how to recognize the tree, where to find it, how to collect its resin, and, just as, and if not more importantly, when to leave the trees alone. Young trees cannot be tapped and older trees were harvested carefully and given time to recover before people can return. These were lessons about livelihood, and lessons about restraint. Passed down through generations, these lessons reflect a way of harvesting built around keeping the tree alive. Source: Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB), Equitable Revenue Distribution for Almaciga Resin, 2023 Almaciga has long helped families in Joel’s community meet their everyday needs. He remembers its resin being used as medicine and sold for food and household expenses. As he grew older, he began carrying resin down from the mountains himself. For Joel, the tree’s value comes from the fact that earning from almaciga does not require destroying the tree. Joel’s experience is part of a much longer livelihood story across Palawan. A 2025 study published in the Philippine Journal of Science notes that Palawan has been a major producer of almaciga resin since at least 1977, based on Philippine Forestry Statistics. The study also documents the long-standing dependence of Indigenous groups and resin-tapping associations on the almaciga industry. Source: Evangelista, K.P.A. et al. (2025). Supply Chain Analysis of Almaciga (Agathis philippinensis, Warb.) Resin in Palawan, the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science, 154(3), 723–736 Yung hindi kailangan putulin ang puno, yun po ay pinakamahalaga kasi pang habang buhay na kabuhayan yun. Hindi nababawasan yung puno sa gubat, napapanatiling mayabong ang kagubatan. (What matters most is that the tree does not have to be cut down, because it can provide a livelihood for a lifetime. The number of trees in the forest is not reduced, and the forest can remain abundant and thriving.) That relationship goes beyond harvesting. Joel describes the almaciga resource as communal, with families taking turns accessing harvesting areas. Trips into the forest also become opportunities to observe the condition of trees and watch for possible damage. Community members bring what they see back to the wider group. Ngayon po wala pa rin pong permit, so kaya wala po halos nangunguha… ang isa sa mga pinapangarap po natin, na magkaroon ng sariling permit ang association ng NATRITI. (“At present, we still do not have a permit, so almost no one is harvesting… one of our hopes is for the NATRITI association to have its own permit.”) For NATRITI, addressing this barrier means enabling the community to legally continue a livelihood they have practiced and cared for across generations. The community is calling on the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) to work together toward the recognition of their ancestral domain as a Tribal Ancestral Zone, so that NATRITI can secure the necessary resource-use permit without further delay. Today, Joel has also seen what happens when that balance is disturbed. Some trees have been lost to storms, termites and overharvesting. For NATRITI, protecting almaciga therefore means strengthening community rules, continuing forest monitoring, caring for younger trees, and thinking about how the resource can be replenished. And perhaps most importantly, it means passing that knowledge and relationship on to the youth. “Hindi po basta puno lang (It is not just a tree),” Joel says. “Ito ay mahalaga simula pa po ng mga ninuno namin (It has been important to us since the time of our ancestors).” He hopes younger generations will continue to know the tree more than a livelihood, but as part of their culture, their forest, and what he calls “karugtong ng aming pamumuhay”: an extension of community life. Today, the future that Joel envisions is not empty forests to be used solely for livelihood, but forests that can continue thriving and providing precisely because the trees remain cared for and standing. About the Project This story forms part of Indigenous Leadership for Biodiversity Protection in Philippines’ Last Ecological Frontier, a project working in two Key Biodiversity Areas in Palawan to strengthen Indigenous leadership and forest governance, support the transmission of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices, promote biodiversity-friendly NTFP and agroforestry livelihoods, and strengthen sustainable resource management and biodiversity protection. Implemented in partnership by: NTFP-EP Philippines, IUCN NL, IDEAS, ELAC, and Both ENDS Funded by the UK Government through Darwin Initiative.

NTFP-EP Philippines is officially joining the Eighth Operational Phase of the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP8) as the NGO Hub for Quezon Province The partnership was formally recognized during the awarding ceremony for SGP8 grantees convened by Forest Foundation Philippines and UNDP Philippines. Through Quezon Shared Pathways (QShare), NTFP-EP Philippines will help strengthen the capacity, coordination, and collaboration of civil society organizations (CSOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), communities, and other landscape stakeholders working across Quezon. The project will support organizations in accessing SGP8 opportunities, strengthening project management and organizational capacities, facilitating partnerships and learning exchanges, and documenting and sharing knowledge from community-driven landscape and seascape initiatives. Its broader goal is to contribute to more coordinated, inclusive, and sustainable action for Quezon’s forests, coasts, communities, and biodiversity. NTFP-EP Philippines team with fellow SGP8 partners As this new chapter begins, we look forward to building new relationships across Quezon and creating spaces where communities, civil society, government, and other partners can learn from one another and work toward shared landscape and seascape goals. About QShare: Quezon Shared Pathways (QShare) advances the capacity and collaboration of CSOs and CBOs for community-driven landscape-seascape action in Quezon Province. About SGP8: The Small Grants Program (SGP) is a corporate programme of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Since 1992, SGP has provided financial and technical support to over 30,000 locally-led initiatives that conserve and restore the environment while improving livelihoods and well-being. By partnering with civil society and community-based organizations, with special consideration for Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, and persons with disabilities, SGP demonstrates that local action can deliver global environmental benefits. Guided by the principles of innovation, inclusion, and impact, SGP supports solutions that promote integrated landscape and seascape approaches to address challenges related to biodiversity loss, climate change, land degradation, chemicals and waste, and international waters, while contributing to resilient communities and sustainable development. Read the official announcement here.

The second Technical Working Group meeting on the ICCA Bill advanced important discussions on recognition, protection, governance, and the proposed national registry for Indigenous Peoples’ and community conserved territories and areas in the Philippines. On March 5, 2026, the 2nd Technical Working Group (TWG) Meeting on the ICCA Bill convened to continue deliberations on the proposed measure that seeks to recognize and protect Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs) in the Philippines. The meeting built on discussions from the first TWG session and focused on refining key provisions of the bill, including definitions, recognition processes, registry mechanisms, governance, prohibited acts, and the roles of government agencies and Indigenous Peoples’ institutions. At the opening of the session, Hon. Leila de Lima grounded the discussion in the deeper meaning of the bill: “At the heart of the ICCA Bill is a truth that no amendment can diminish, that our indigenous peoples have been the quiet, faithful, and far too often unrecognized guardians and stewards of our forests, our watersheds, our mountains, and the extraordinary biodiversity that sustains every one of us.” She continued: “Long before there were laws, long before there were agencies, long before there were registries, they were already there, tending the land with reverence and wisdom the modern world is only beginning to understand.” These words captured what is at stake in the ICCA Bill: not simply the creation of another policy mechanism, but the formal recognition of truths that Indigenous communities have lived and upheld for generations. What happened during the 2nd TWG meeting? The TWG meeting moved several important points forward. Among the developments discussed were the recognition of ICCAs within ancestral domains and lands, the role of customary governance and Indigenous knowledge systems, the protection of community decision-making processes, and the establishment of a National ICCA Registry. The discussion also touched on how the law should ensure that protection remains rooted in the rights, realities, and leadership of Indigenous Peoples. The meeting surfaced key concerns that still need further refinement. These include how the recognition process should be framed without becoming too burdensome for communities and how the law can best uphold customary law and Indigenous governance while engaging existing legal and institutional frameworks, among others. In other words, the work is still ongoing, but the March 5 meeting marked another important step in shaping a stronger and more responsive bill. Why the ICCA Bill matters The ICCA Bill is important, especially in these times of ecological crisis, because it recognizes something many communities have long known: forests, watersheds, biodiversity, and living cultures are often best protected where Indigenous Peoples and local communities continue to govern and care for their territories according to their own knowledge systems, customary laws, and responsibilities. At a time of worsening ecological decline, biodiversity loss, deforestation, land conflicts, and climate disruption, the bill offers a path toward protection that is not imposed from above but built from the ground; directly from communities whose relationship with land is rooted in stewardship, interdependence, and accountability across generations. This is also why the ICCA Bill connects to wider global conversations on climate justice. Around the world, there is growing recognition that responses to climate change cannot rely only on fixes through extractive development packaged as “green.” Real solutions must also protect peoples’ rights, secure ancestral territories, and uphold the communities who have long defended ecosystems from destruction. Protecting ICCAs is not separate from climate action. It is part of what just and meaningful climate action must look like. Part of a bigger movement for environmental justice The ICCA Bill is also part of the broader GreenPrint movement across the country, which pushes for a set of urgent green legislative measures in the Philippines. Alongside the ICCA Bill are other key proposals such as the National Land Use Act (NLUA), Forest Resources Bill (FRB), and the Alternative Minerals Management Bill (AMMB). As a collective, these bills reflect a larger call, which is that environmental governance in the country must move away from short-term extraction and toward justice, ecological protection, land security, and community-led futures. Within this larger movement, the ICCA Bill plays a vital role because it centers the leadership of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in protecting forests, biodiversity, and territories of life that sustain both people and planet. Moving forward As the TWG process continues, civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples’ groups, and allies are also discussing the next steps needed to strengthen the bill further. This includes ensuring that the law remains grounded in lived realities on the ground. For many advocates, this is not only about passing a bill, it is about affirming that the protection of land, forests, waters, and biodiversity must go hand in hand with the protection of peoples, cultures, and collective rights. As Hon. De Lima said during the session: “The National ICCA Registry is more than a database, it is a declaration, a covenant, that our indigenous peoples are partners, never obstacles, in the sacred and urgent mission of protecting our nation’s biodiversity…” The 2nd TWG meeting showed that the conversation is moving, raising the possibility of a law that more fully recognizes the role of Indigenous Peoples and communities as enduring stewards of life, land, and future generations. NTFP-EP Philippines continues to support the advancement of the ICCA Bill as part of a broader movement for rights-based conservation, forest protection, and environmental justice. The work continues. For more information on ICCAs, you can check the links below: NTFP-EP Philippines’ ICCA Hub: for general information and updates on the bill The Philippine ICCA Consortium The Global ICCA Registry

Lessons from the Sierra Madre We’re sharing a newly published partner feature by IUCN NL that reflects on lessons from the Sierra Madre forest in the Philippines, particularly the intersections of water security, forest protection, and Indigenous rights. As an organization working alongside Indigenous peoples and forest-dependent communities, we view this piece as a learning resource that contributes to ongoing conversations on rights-based safeguards, meaningful participation, and long-term conservation outcomes. What you’ll find in the feature: Insights on why rights-based safeguards matter in environmental decision-making Reflections on watershed and forest landscapes in the Sierra Madre Learnings that can inform more inclusive, community-led conservation ➡️Read the full partner feature on IUCN NL: https://www.iucn.nl/en/story/supporting-indigenous-water-defenders-in-the-philippines-lessons-from-the-sierra-madre-forest/ Attribution/note: This article was written and published by IUCN NL and is shared here with permission as a reference resource.

Every 20th of February, the world marks World Day of Social Justice, a reminder that fairness isn’t an abstract concept, but about whether communities can keep their land, water, livelihoods, health, and dignity, for future generations to inherit a livable home. Social justice means no sacrifice zones Every 20th of February, the world marks World Day of Social Justice, a reminder that fairness isn’t an abstract concept, but about whether communities can keep their land, water, livelihoods, health, and dignity, for future generations to inherit a livable home. In Palawan, social justice looks like protecting the island’s remaining forests because when ecosystems collapse, the first lives on the line are usually those who contributed the least to the damage: Indigenous Peoples, small farmers, fishers, and rural communities. That’s why Palawan’s 50-year mining moratorium remains one of the clearest examples of “real social justice” in action: it prevents the island from being treated as a resource that’s only valuable when it’s being dug up. Quick explainer: What is Palawan’s 50-year mining moratorium? In March 2025, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed the Provincial Ordinance No. 3646 (Series of 2025), more commonly known to Palawenos and Palawenas as the 50-yr mining moratorium. It is a 50-year, extendable moratorium on the issuance of endorsements for small-scale and large-scale mining applications across Palawan. An important nuance however is that the ordinance focuses on endorsements, which is a critical step often used to move mining applications forward through local processes. The moratorium covers endorsements for mining applications including exploration permits, mining agreements, and financial or technical assistance agreements. Plainly, this means that: New mining approvals (from 2025 and beyond) are paused by cutting off local endorsements needed for new applications. The land uses that Palawan people depends on are protected: food systems, fisheries, community forestry, and nature-based livelihoods. However, what it does NOT do: It does not magically erase every mining problem overnight (existing operations and other permits still matter). The ordinance itself lists exceptions and situations it does not cover (e.g., certain renewals without new areas, specific quarrying, and other enumerated cases). How we got here: a people-powered win (and why it mattered) This ordinance did not happen overnight. It came from decades (since 2008) of organizing, policy work, and community resistance, which had been intensified in 2024–2025 through a broad coalition of faith-based groups, civil society, and local communities. Key milestones included petitions and public pressure urging the Province to act, including reports of over 100,000 signatures supporting a mining moratorium. The Provincial Government approved the measure on March 5, 2025, and it was signed on March 13, 2025. NTFP-EP Philippines partners and allies consistently raised this core truth: mining is not only an environmental issue, but also a justice issue. As one Indigenous youth leader, Mamilmar Dubria, Jr. put it: When you kill the forest, you kill the Indigenous Peoples too. 2026 reality check: the pressure did not disappear The push for mining in Palawan continues because global demand for “transition minerals” (like nickel) is rising, and the Philippines is being positioned as a key supplier. The Philippines is a major nickel producer, and national policy discussions continue to encourage mining growth and “critical minerals” development. On February 4, 2026, the Philippines and the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on critical minerals supply chains, signaling stronger geopolitical and market pressure around extraction. Watchdogs have warned that critical-minerals deals can sideline local, rural, and Indigenous communities’ rights are centered as business interests are often prioritized. Local update from Brooke’s Point, Palawan (Feb 2026): Based on a report shared by our community partner network, the Environmentally Critical Areas Network (ECAN) Board did not endorse the mining applications of Ipilan Nickel Corporation and Calmia Mines for planned operations in Brooke’s Point, following a recent meeting this month. The report also noted concerns about impacts on Indigenous communities and a nearby elementary school, reiterating that the mayor previously stated there is no designated mineral zone in the municipality. At the same time, public discussion and local political processes around mining proposals continue to surface, underscoring why vigilance is still necessary. Why this moratorium remains critical, especially in a climate emergency When the climate is unstable and ecosystems are stressed, forests become pillars for survival because they: regulate water, reduce disaster risk, support food systems and livelihoods, and buffer communities from climate shocks. Protecting forests is not climate strategy, it’s core justice work. Atty. Gerthie Mayo-Anda of the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC) has long emphasized that Palawan already has a strong legal framework through the Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) for Palawan (Republic Act 7611) and the ECAN zoning system, but enforcement and political continues to be a battleground. “All natural forests are core zones,” said Atty Anda. RA 7611 established the SEP as Palawan’s sustainable development framework, with ECAN zoning meant to protect core ecological areas. She also offers the reminder serves as anchor for anyone doing long-haul environmental defense: “Eternal vigilance is really very important,” Atty. Anda reiterates. “We cannot be complacent, especially now with the climate crisis, heavy flooding has happened, and it will happen again, so its an opportunity now to spare more than 200,000 hectares of forests.” What the moratorium means for NTFP-EP Philippines partner communities For communities who stood up for the moratorium, it protects not just forests, but also: ancestral domains and self-determination community-led livelihoods (including non-timber forest products) food and water security futures of the next generations For many partners, the moratorium is breathing space to strengthen community enterprises, forest governance, and local conservation agreements without a constant threat of new extraction approvals moving quietly through. What’s Next for Palawan? (2026 onward) Implementation strength : A moratorium works only if local decision-makers consistently uphold it, especially during leadership changes. Legal challenges and “workarounds” : The Supreme Court’s ruling striking down an Occidental Mindoro mining moratorium as a precedent in debates about LGU powers. This is exactly why Palawan’s unique SEP/ECAN governance framework (RA 7611) matters in the long game. High-pressure mining zones : Southern Palawan, including areas around Brooke’s Point, remains a flashpoint in permitting battles and community defense. Bottom line The Palawan 50-year Mining Moratorium is not just a one-time policy win, it is an ongoing social justice safeguard that protects communities and the beautiful island of Palawan from being forced to “trade” forests, water, and safety for short-term profit. In an era of mounting ecological crises in our home planet, the most practical form of justice is protecting life-support systems, and that begins with where our breath comes from, the forests. Sources: 2025 Interview with Atty. Grizelda Gerthie Mayo-Anda, Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC) United Nations, World Day Of Social Justice 2026 on "Renewed Commitment to Social Development and Social Justice" ELAC Philippines 2025: Provincial Ordinance No. 3646 CBCP News 2025: Church petition for 25-year mining moratorium in Palawan tops 100k signatures Philippine Information Agency 2025: Palawan guv signs 50-year mining moratorium ordinance S&P Global: COMMODITIES 2025: New law could spur Philippine nickel mining to new heights Philippine Embassy 2026 Article: PHILIPPINES SIGNS MOU ON CRITICAL MINERALS SUPPLY CHAINS MindaNews 2026 Article: COMMENTARY: The Philippines Government Should Ensure that the U.S. Thirst for Minerals Does Not Drive Abuses 104.7 XFM Palawan (2026): ECAN BOARD HINDI INENDORSO ANG DALAWANG MINAHAN SA BROOKE’S POINT Palawan News Article 2026: Mayor endorses INC’s 2026 permit request to Brooke’s Point council Supreme Court E-Library: REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7611 Supreme Court 2025: SC Nullifies Mining Ban in Occidental Mindoro Supreme Court 2023: Supreme Court Issues Writ of Kalikasan Against DENR and Mining Operators in Mt. Mantalingahan, Palawan

Trusting Communities to Keep Forests Alive On September 18, community leaders and conservation groups from across South Palawan gathered at Maruyog Ridge for the Nature’s Heartbeat Orientation, a necessary step before the beginning of a four-year programme that channels flexible, trust-based support to locally led conservation in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in Palawan. NTFP-EP Philippines, as the Palawan hub, convened the session to align partners around a simple proposition: when we trust communities and fund what they know, forests and cultures are kept alive. This #NationalEnvironmentalAwarenessMonth, looking back at the orientation is a reminder that environmental awareness is also about the people who have conserved landscapes and have kept them healthy. This typhoon season in the Philippines, we highlight the importance of the forests that absorb carbon and soften climate shocks and the communities protecting and restoring them, rather than chasing “development” that clears them away. What Nature’s Heartbeat brings Nature’s Heartbeat (NH) supports about 30 local conservationists across seven landscapes in five countries from June 2025 to May 2029, with Palawan as a core site in the Philippines. Two pathways drive the change: (1) strengthen frontline conservationists; and (2) help shift the wider funding system toward trust-based practices. Over time, the programme aims to grow locally led outcomes and nudge donors to match flexibility with accountability. Trust-based funding (TBF) is central here: multi-year, largely unearmarked support with light, learning-oriented reporting; open feedback loops; and proportionate due diligence. The goal is not to remove accountability but to relocate it toward peer learning, transparency, and outcomes that matter on the ground. Who joined the orientation and where they work Participants came from indigenous peoples’ organizations (IPOs), people’s associations, and NGOs active across Narra, Quezon, Brooke’s Point, Rizal, Aborlan, Dumaran, Araceli, and El Nido. Below is a snapshot of groups and coverage: Samahan ng Katutubong Palawan sa Kalatagbak – Quezon (SKPSK): Sites involve Kalatagbak, Quezon; works around reforestation in watershed areas Nagkakaisang Kabataang Katutubo ng Narra (NKKN): Covers 11 barangays in Narra; work involves IEC and youth organizing Katangan Ancestral Domain ng 6 barangay ng Brookes Point (KAD6): Works in Kabatangan area (Mainit, Pangobilian, Tubtub, Amas, Oring-Oring, Saraza); Does ADSDPP/CADT work Samahan ng mga Palawano Sa Amas Brooke's Point (SPABP): Works in Amas, Brooke’s Point area; Initiatives involve almaciga trading, coco spread, reforestation, water system Pengebiyagan It mge Pela'wan Deges Ato' Et Isugod - Quezon (PPDI): Works in Isugod, Quezon; Efforts inolve wild honey and bantay-CADT patrolling Center for Sustainability Philippines (CSPH): Works in Bataraza to El Nido sites; involving protected area work, documentation trainings, IEC Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Advocates, Inc. (PBCAI): Works in Dumaran & Araceli; efforts involve aquaculture, organic farming, mangrove rehabilitation Nagkakaisang Tribu ng Palawan (NATRIPAL): Works Island-wide (with Batak, Palaw’an, Tagbanua communities); work revolves around ADSDPP/CADT, flora/fauna work, culture, marine/terrestrial nurseries, handicrafts, honey Women’s craft groups (e.g., (Samahan ng mga Kababaihang Tagbanua sa Narra (SAKATAN), Negsembateng Kelelibunan Et Kepelawanan Ese't Association - Brookes Point (NKEKEA)): Groups create handicrafts, natural products, and has initiatives in native tree reforestation in Narra, Kabatangan, and BICAMM barangays Narra IPO / Bukid-Baw Dagat / Nagkakaisang Tribu ng Tina- Tina, Culandanom, Aborlan (NATRITI) / MN-Bunog / NTD / Samahan ng Maaasahang Kabataan (SAMAKA) / Samahan ng mga katutubong Tagbanua sa Sagpangan-Sagpangan, Aborlan (SAKTAS), and others: Works across Narra, Aborlan, Brooke’s Point, Rizal; Does monitoring of ancestral domains, bantay-CADT, reforestation, livelihoods, and IEC against destructive projects What surfaced during the activities The group worked in two landscape clusters: the Victoria Anepahan Mountain Range (VAMR) and the Mt. Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (MMPL), where priority actions were identified. Shared themes across landscapes include the following: Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) / Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT): finalize plans, continue CADT processing, and set up a technical working group for documentation; coordinate surveys (e.g., Isugod) and validation. Enforcement: deputize wildlife enforcers (esp. Tagbanua), joint patrols via bantay-CADT, trainings on forest/wildlife laws, species ID, safe handling, and first aid. Reforestation: seedling collection, nurseries (including fruit trees), and transplanting; per-organization nursery targets. Research & Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSP): IKSP documentation led by NATRIPAL/NKKN, plus Rapid Biodiversity Assessments with CSPH. Livelihoods: resource assessments; technical skills training; marketing linkages (e.g., display centers) for honey, handicrafts, pandan/rattan, and other non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Women & Youth: organizational development, intergenerational dialogue, documentation and comms, and social media campaigns. VAMR highlights included CBST design and capacity-building (NATRIPAL, PBCAI), joint enforcement training, and educational campaigns, while MMPL highlights added traditional handicrafts, nursery establishment (akapulko/almaciga/rattan/pandan), aquaculture pilots, production areas, and IPRA law education under Women & Youth empowerment. Key discussion points Partners named practical needs that trust-based support can support this year: completing ADSDPPs, accelerating CADT processes, strengthening bantay-CADT and community patrols, supporting research and IKSP, and creating livelihood pathways tightly linked to forest care (e.g., honey, native nurseries). Participants also raised system constraints, including slow titling and Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) implementation, uneven budget allocations, and safety risks for community advocates, which underscored the value of flexible, tranche-based funding paired with proportionate due diligence, peer accountability, and clear integrity protocols. NH’s Theory of Change How partner selection will work NH will use an open, fair, landscape-fit process: initial mapping and shortlisting (with a lightweight independent expert), interviews/consultations that may include community references, and a final selection by the hub with fit-for-purpose due diligence. The aim is a balanced mix, where indigenous peoples, women, and youth are considered; toegther with each group’s varied capacities Why this matters In today’s funding landscape, local organizations are facing compounding pressures: climate disruptions, extraction, and shrinking civic space, while heavy paperwork keeps grassroots from timely support. NH’s Theory of Change addresses this by providing flexible funding plus coaching, peer learning, and visibility for local results. As forests keep drawing down carbon and sheltering life, perhaps the most resilient move is to trust the communities that are already doing conservation and biodiversity work.

NTFP-EP Philippines facilitated the participation of 150+ exhibitors from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao NTFP-EP Philippines facilitated the participation of 150+ exhibitors from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, including School of Living Traditions (SLTs), throughout the National Arts and Crafts Fair (NACF) 2025 at Megatrade Halls 1–3, SM Megamall. From ingress on October 22 to egress on October 29, our team handled flights, ground transport, accommodations, and daily meals to help partners arrive safe, set up on time, and head home smoothly. The fair operated 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., October 23–29, with free public admission, so getting the exhibitors ready each day mattered as much as moving boxes. This year’s fair was organized by the Department of Trade and Industry – Bureau of Market Development, Promotions, and OTOP (BMDPO), with DTI regional/provincial offices, and supported by Senator Loren Legarda, whose long-standing advocacy underpins NACF’s visibility. Our role complemented the organizer’s exhibitor timetable (ingress/egress protocols, warehousing, and booth rules) with hands-on assistance so communities could focus on meeting buyers and telling the stories behind their crafts. All groups we assisted are part of our ongoing Assistance for Filipino Artisans (AFA) project with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). We are grateful to the DTI-BMDPO team and to Sen. Loren Legarda for championing a fair where indigenous and community artisans can sell directly, meet buyers, and keep living traditions alive. What Exhibitors Said Maraming salamat po sa NTFP sa opurtunidad para sa aming mga kabataan na naging bahagi po ng NCF 2025. — Lovely & Mimot, SLT Quezon We would like to thank Senator Loren Legarda, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), DTI, NTFP-EP Philippines staff and of course sa mga mababait na van drivers natin. Thank you so much We really appreciate your effort, support, and love sa mga outstanding MSME's from Mindanao. As the doors close, the art lives on. We hope this keeps up. BONG SALAMAT, DWATA MIFAT KDEE (Thank you so much & God Bless everyone). Kitakits next time. — DED LIBUN DI LASANG Association We want to express heartfelt to NTFP-EP Philippines for their comfort and caring during our 7 days stay in Manila. We really appreciate your effort and tireless work for us to have a comfortable stay. Dakel ne salamat from Dapetan Association with Didi @Ellen Seniel Trazo. Manama bless sa ating lahat! — Dapetan Association (with Didi & Ellen Seniel Trazo) Thank you!!! It was better than last year po!! — Exhibitor feedback Photo Galleries Behind the Scenes & Hall Moments: Lists, luggage, and late-night check-ins, logistics that let makers shine on the NACF stage SLTs Assisted: Learning that lives in communities, showcased on the NACF floor AFA x NCCA Exhibitors: From program to marketplace, AFA partners bringing heritage into everyday use