ANCESTRAL EAGLE FOREST

THIS FOREST IS PROTECTED AS THE ANCESTRAL DOMAIN OF THE DUMAGAT AND ALTA INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AT THE HEART OF THE SIERRA MADRE BIODIVERSITY CORRIDOR.

The forest borders the Aurora Watershed Forest Reservation and Aurora Memorial National Park and is of major historical and cultural importance to the two indigenous groups. The Dumagat and Alta are historically hunter-gatherer communities with a strong affinity for nature. Their forest, rivers and coastal waters provide them with ferns, palms, honey, wild rambutan, shrimps, crabs and fish etc. as sources of nutrition, livelihoods, medicine and structural materials.

Daluhay (a Philippine NGO) has been working with the Indigenous communities since February 2016. Together they have formulated a Community Conservation and Protection Plan for the area which is catalysing a network of community conserved areas to protect the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor from infrastructure projects and encroachment.

Now the Dumagat and Alta wish to carefully document and disseminate their Traditional Ecological Knowledge on conservation systems and practice; restore 400 degraded hectares with native trees; train 50 members of their tribal council on improved governance and leadership; and research and develop two forest-based sustainable livelihoods programs.

GRANTEE TEAM

Daluhay is a Philippine non-profit environmental NGO. Their name, ‘Dal-uhay’, is derived from the Philippine phrase ‘Daloy ng Buhay’ which means Flow of Life in English. This phrase represents their activities, approach and ideas about nature, culture and society. They advocate that the health of nature and people are intrinsically connected. Daluhay work predominantly on the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor on a ‘ridge-to-reef’ landscape basis, across eight municipalities in the Aurora province. They work with over thirty indigenous and local communities that rely on the natural resources of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor.

BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION VALUES

A forest resource inventory, anecdotal surveys, historical accounts and publications have helped Daluhay confirm the presence of a number of endangered species in the Ancestral Philippine Eagle Forest, including the Golden-crowned Flying Fox (Acerodon jubatus) and Philippine Hawk Eagle (Nisaetus philippensis), along with the threatened Philippine Eagle Owl, Rufous Hornbill, Wild boar, Flame-breasted Fruit Dove, Gray’s Monitor Lizard and Philippine Long-tailed macaque. In the 1990s there were confirmed sightings of the critically endangered Philippine Eagle, and more recently, bird calls and anecdotal sightings of the Philippine Eagle have been reported but not scientifically validated. By protecting and maintaining this sacred forest, the Dumagat and Alta people are also safeguarding this critical habitat for the Philippines’ national bird.

Pithecophaga_jefferyi_front_The Wandering Angel_Angry Bird.jpeg

A.2 Green Crested Lizard(Bronchocela spp.jpg

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A.1 Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys).JPG

D.2 Clearwater river in Dibalo Forest.JPG

THREATS

The development plans of the National Government of the Philippines are currently characterised by building modern infrastructures and making remote areas more accessible to investors. Under such plans, there is a project to construct highways in the Aurora Province traversing through the Ancestral Eagle Forest. Daluhay is supporting the Dumagat and Alta indigenous peoples to invoke their rights to the required Free Prior and Informed Consent process, under which they will argue for the redesign of such projects.

In addition, Indigenous Forest Guards have been working hard to contain illegal activities in the area by patrolling the Ancestral Forest. However, as past funding sources run thin, there is a danger that these guards become demotivated and look for work elsewhere to provide for their families - leaving the forest vulnerable to poaching and logging.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

Monitoring and protection activities of the forest through a traditional, systematic and institutionalised Enforcement and Monitoring Scheme
Restoring at least 400 hectares of degraded lands through planting native trees
Documenting and disseminating sustainable Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) systems and practices on forest conservation and management to at least 50% of the indigenous community members and get at least 50% taking part in conservation and protection of the forest
Training at least 50 members of the Dumagat and Alta Tribal Councils in good governance
Establishing a functional province-wide network of Indigenous Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs)
Implementing at least two sustainable forest-based livelihoods, e.g. ecotourism