FROM THE FIELD: Conversations about Conservation

UNDP Philippines/Orange Omengan

An Egongot indigenous man balances on a yantok vine as he crosses from one tree to another in Dipaculao, Aurora, in the Philippines. (23 March 2019)

FROM THE FIELD: Conversations about Conservation

9 August 2019 Climate and Environment

Indigenous peoples in the Philippines are increasingly involved in the national conversation about protecting and conserving the South East Asian country’s key biodiversity areas, thanks to support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

View of Mount Apo from Mount Talomo, Davao City, in the Philippines. (4 August 2019) — View of Mount Apo from Mount Talomo, Davao City, in the Philippines. NEWCAPP File Photo/UNDP Philippines

It is estimated that some 85 per cent of these areas are home to indigenous communities, who live in direct contact with nature and who have the traditional knowledge and skills to protect the environment.

But a combination of unsustainable tourism, poorly planned infrastructure development and the erosion of indigenous leadership in conservation, has meant that many habitats are under threat and biodiversity could be lost.

For this year's International Day of the World's Indigenous People, marked annually on 9 August read more here about how UNDP is helping to bring indigenous people back into the conversation about conservation.

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News Tracker: Past Stories on This Issue

Located in southern Morocco, the Imegdale territory is located in the Western High Atlas range. The oldest section of the range, the High Atlas has a wide variety of natural and cultural assets, which cohere as a unique landscape and ecosystem.

FROM THE FIELD: Balancing Morocco’s indigenous culture and conservation

5 June 2019

Climate and Environment

The delicate balance between indigenous farming practices and conservation in Morocco is under threat, but according to the UN, local communities in the Western High Atlas Mountains are finding ways to preserve traditions and still make a living from the land.

In Papua New Guinea, local communities and conservation groups are fighting to save the tree kangaroo. (file August 2010)

FROM THE FIELD: Saving the tree kangaroos of Papua New Guinea

20 May 2019

SDGs

The survival of an endangered animal which looks part kangaroo and part lemur has been secured thanks to a project in Papua New Guinea (PNG) supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).