Indigenous Peoples and Migrants: Social Categories, Rights, and Policies for Protected Areas in the Philippine Uplands

Abstract

This article identifies four models of park management that apply where indigenous people mix with migrant settlers in developing countries: (a) coercive conservation; (b) community-based conservation; (c) ancestral domain; and (d) European-style landscape park. Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan Island, the Philippines, has evolved through all four types. While legal recognition of indigenous peoples' land rights has improved their relative position vis-à-vis their migrant neighbors, it has not equalized their lack of access to political and economic resources. This deficit prevents them from capturing full benefits from the forest, and consequently undermines their capacity and incentive to conserve forest resources. We argue that indigenous peoples' property rights and access to assets must be sufficiently secure for them to actively participate in park management and share in its benefits. This leads to the conclusion that the most effective and just form of park management is a blend of community-based conservation, ancestral domain, and landscape park.