THE PHILIPPINE Eagle Foundation, together with Mt. Apo Indigenous Peoples Coalition for Biodiversity, Environment and Culture (Mt. Apo IPCBEC) and SM Lanang, held its Indigenous Resource Governance Summit 2025 on May 28 to engage in biodiversity conservation and Mt. Apo’s cultural heritage.
The summit sheds light on the voices of IP leaders in preserving the mountain’s forests, wildlife, indigenous conservation practices, and the integration of traditional ecological knowledge via modern tools in forest governance.
The partnership between PEF and Mt. Apo IPCBEC also seeks to safeguard the endangered Philippine Eagle, which counts a large tract of the reservation and the ancestral domain as its hunting grounds.
PEF forged a strategic partnership with the Australian Embassy of the Philippines for the event to overcome shared challenges while fostering collaborations and the sharing of ideas between communities.
In a press conference, Remaelyn Tatad, a member of the Bagobo Tagabawa Tribal Council, highlighted that environmental issues burden the community. She also expressed her gratitude for PEF’s support, as the world is now recognizing the initiatives and knowledge on environmental protection of the IPs.
During the summit, the Obu Manuvu of Tambobong and other IP communities presented their own six advocacies for the years 2025 to 2030. along with the help of several government agencies. These advocacies include widening IP culture education, bolstering the forest guards, training the youth on environmental protection, strengthening ancestral domain management, and
