Opportunity for PGIS practitioners to map Batak ancestral lands and indigenous peoples’ and community conserved areas and territories (ICCAs) in Northern Palawan, the Philippines

The Coalition against Land Grabbing (CALG) is a national coalition of indigenous peoples and local communities based in the province of Palawan (the Philippines). CALG is looking for young PGIS practitioners to help mapping Batak ancestral lands and ICCAs in northern Palawan. Specifically, they seek support for GPS-based resources inventories, geotagging of relevant locations (hunting grounds, upland farms, ritual sites, etc.).

One  aim of the project is to generate interactive maps that could serve to raise awareness on how the Batak of Palawan manage and perceive their cultural landscape. The interactive display of satellite imagery, enriched with location-based multimedia and other  layers of information, would also provide evidence of on-going threats to forest resources and Batak livelihood and cultural integrity.

Social cartography, emphasizing culturally distinct understanding of landscape, will be overlapped with geo-spatial maps.  The former will include the use of local place names, information on the actual and historical land uses, oral traditions, cosmovisions and testimonies linked to short video-clips syndicated from Google Video or You Tube, photographs (via Panoramio) and text.

CALG envisages that these maps would become the discursive patrimony of the Batak indigenous people and provide them with the necessary legal evidence to apply for Certificates of Ancestral Land Titles (CALTs) and to have their ICCAs included in the ICCA Registry of the United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).

The project is on-going and it will end in June 2018.  Assistance for geotagging and mapping is particularly sought during the dry season (between February and May 2017), depending on the availability of PGIS practitioners.  Due to global climate changes, dry season is not necessarily confined to the period mentioned above, but could also extend up to June.

selected candidates will receive free food and lodging during the research, domestic travel costs will be reimbursed and a basic honorarium based on Philippine’s standards will be provided.

During the various stages of project implementation CALG and PGIS practitioners will closely collaborate with the Batak Federation (Bayaan it Batak kat Palawan – BBKP).

Those interested can approach the Coalition against Land Grabbing (CALG) through this email address: calgpalawan@gmail.com

Most recent CALG geotagged reports 

• The Aborlan West- coast geotagged report

• The Puerto Princesa west-coast geotagged report

• The ‘Sarong’ geotagged report

Nation-wide database based on content generated via Participatory 3D Models

SYDNEY, 19 November 2014. During the World Parks Congress session "A toolkit to support conservation by Indigenous Peoples and local communities: building capacity and sharing knowledge" organised by Colleen Corrigan from UNEP-WCMC, PAFID Executive Director Dave de Vera elaborated on the establishment of a country-wide database based on selected data sourced (FPIC obtained) from more than 150 1:5000 scale participatory 3D models (P3DM) realised by indigenous peoples in the Philippines.



The toolkit produced by United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and launched at the Congress includes 150 tools among which a range of participatory mapping methods including P3DM.  The toolkit is meant to build capacity and sharing knowledge for Indigenous Peoples and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs).

It also includes a case study from Ethiopia which summarizes the outcome of a P3DM exercise facilitated by MELCA-Ethiopia with support provided by CTA.

The toolkit also recommends the "Training Kit on Participatory Spatial Information Management and Communication" published by CTA and IFAD in 2012

Recognising and Supporting Territories and Areas Conserved by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities

Recognising and Supporting Territories and Areas Conserved by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities is a new Publication to be released at CBD’s 11th Conference of Parties (Oct 8-19th) in Hyderabad, India

Published by the CBD Secretariat, based on a study undertaken by the ICCA Consortium, coordinated by the Indian NGO Kalpavriksh

Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs) contain significant levels of biodiversity and related cultural diversity. This publication provides details of the range, extent and values of such sites, the threats they face, and the efforts being made by governments and civil society at recognizing and supporting them. Drawing lessons from 19 country case studies (covering all continents), and a range of other documentation, it offers lessons on how best to provide recognition to ICCAs.

The knowledge and practices of indigenous peoples and local communities have contributed greatly to conservation of ecosystem, species, and genetic diversity. It is likely that as much of the world’s area as is under officially designated protected areas (about 13%), if not more, is under ICCAs.

In 2010, at the 10th Conference of Parties to the CBD (Nagoya, Japan), governments committed to a Strategic Plan on Biodiversity 2012-20. This included a set of 20 targets (‘Aichi Targets’), covering aspects such as integrating biodiversity into economic development, enhancing the coverage of protected areas and other forms of effective conservation, alleviating poverty and providing secure livelihoods.

This publication shows how ICCAs can help all countries to meet many of these targets, including Target 11 of expanding global protected area coverage to 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine areas. ICCAs can also help meet commitments under other global agreements such as the Millennium Development Goals and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

This publication stresses that, in order to maintain and enhance the values of ICCAs, indigenous peoples and local communities governing them need adequate and appropriate recognition, including:

• Clear rights to territories and natural resources, in both terrestrial and marine areas 
• Recognition of their institutions of collective governance 
• Rights to exclude destructive activities like mining
• Respect of diverse cultures, lifestyles, economic systems 
• Recognition of ICCAs as protected areas or other effective conservation areas 

The publication shows that several countries are moving substantially in these directions. For instance, in Australia, Indigenous Protected Areas make up about 30% of the official protected area estate, while in the Philippines legislation relating to ancestral domain rights is providing backing to indigenous peoples in their efforts to conserve and sustainable manage their territories. However, many countries are still weak in their recognition of indigenous peoples and local communities in general, and of ICCAs in particular. In most, serious threats from extractive industries and large infrastructure projects, imposition of inappropriate land uses, and lack of recognition are the key challenge.

Global cooperation is needed to enable all countries achieve recognition of ICCAs, to enhance their contribution to conservation, livelihood security, and cultural sustenance. The publication provides pointers on how this can be done through legal, administrative, social, financial, advocacy, networking and other forms of recognition and support.

Citation: Kothari, Ashish with Corrigan, Colleen, Jonas, Harry, Neumann, Aurelie, and Shrumm, Holly. (eds). 2012. Recognising and Supporting Territories and Areas Conserved By Indigenous Peoples And Local Communities: Global Overview and National Case Studies. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, ICCA Consortium, Kalpavriksh, and Natural Justice, Montreal, Canada. Technical Series no. 64, 160 pp.

For further details, contact Ashish Kothari.

A handbook for the Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas Registry

Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) are managed areas that are voluntarily conserved by local or indigenous communities for conservation and cultural purposes.

This handbook is intended as a guide for those who wish to learn about ICCAs and the newly developed ICCA Registry tool, which aims to develop awareness, recognition and documented values of ICCAs through a community-supported database, maps and an interactive, multimedia website.  Communities who govern and manage ICCAs will find this handbook particularly helpful to understand how they can contribute to and benefit from the Registry if they wish.  This handbook adheres to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and supports the application of bio-cultural community protocols in maintaining the integrity of community knowledge and resources.


English version [Download]
Spanish version [Download]

Indigenous Peoples and the Collaborative Stewardship of Nature

Involving Indigenous peoples and traditional knowledge into natural resource management produces more equitable and successful outcomes. Unfortunately, argue Anne Ross and co-authors, even many “progressive” methods fail to produce truly equal partnerships. This book offers a comprehensive and global overview of the theoretical, methodological, and practical dimensions of co-management. The authors critically evaluate the range of management options that claim to have integrated Indigenous peoples and knowledge, and then outline an innovative, alternative model of co-management, the Indigenous Stewardship Model. They provide detailed case studies and concrete details for application in a variety of contexts. Broad in coverage and uniting robust theoretical insights with applied detail, this book is ideal for scholars and students as well as for professionals in resource management and policy.

Indigenous Peoples and the Collaborative Stewardship of Nature
Knowledge Binds and Institutional Conflicts
Anne Ross (Author); Kathleen Pickering Sherman (Author); Jeffrey G. Snodgrass (Author); Henry D. Delcore (Author); Richard Sherman (Author)
320 pp. / 6.00 x 9.00 / Dec, 2010
Hardback (978-1-59874-577-1)
Paperback (978-1-59874-578-8)