Limits to Indigenous Participation: The Agta and the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, the Philippines

Background

The study takes place in the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (NSMNP), the Philippines’ largest protected area, which overlaps with areas inhabited by the Agta, an indigenous group of hunter-gatherers. Historically, the Philippines has shifted its approach to indigenous peoples, moving away from considering them illegal squatters towards recognizing them as partners in conservation. This shift is reflected in laws like the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act and the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA), which aim to integrate indigenous participation into protected area management and grant them rights to their ancestral domains. However, biodiversity-rich areas like the NSMNP often overlap with indigenous territories, highlighting the complex relationship between conservation and indigenous rights. Activities such as illegal logging, agricultural expansion, and unsustainable fishing threaten the NSMNP itself, which underscores the critical need for effective management and indigenous participation.

Goals and Methods

The research aims to understand the extent and nature of indigenous Agta participation in the management of the NSMNP. To achieve this, the authors combine ethnographic research on Agta livelihood strategies conducted between 2002 and 2013 with a content analysis of the minutes of 39 Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) meetings held between 2001 and 2008. Additionally, the study draws on the insights from a 2006 project that seeks to maximize the Agta’s participation in the PAMB through activities such as community consultations and training for Agta PAMB members. The analysis of the PAMB minutes focuses on the frequency, form, and effects of Agta participation in decision-making processes, and who participates.

Conclusions and Takeaways

The study concludes that despite the formal inclusion of indigenous Agta representatives in the PAMB, socio-cultural, practical, financial, and political barriers hamper their participation in the management of the NSMNP, and thus it remains marginal. Existing power structures that favor more dominant stakeholders cause this marginalization. While legislation provides an institutional basis for their involvement, it does not guarantee “meaningful” participation. Efforts to increase Agta participation, such as the initiated project, result in increased attendance at meetings, but these efforts do not significantly improve their influence on agenda-setting or decision-making processes. The authors suggest that without a redistribution of power, formalized participation risks becoming an empty ritual. The study highlights the need to move beyond the formal inclusion of indigenous peoples in management bodies and to actively address the underlying power imbalances and practical obstacles that prevent their effective participation in natural resource management.