The Bakun indigenous peoples (IPs) in the municipality of Bakun, a province of Benguet, Philippines, are aiming to develop a pro- poor reward mechanism from their watershed services. In 2002, through the efforts of Bakun Indigenous Tribe Organization (BITO), the IPs were awarded a municipal-wide Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) by the national government, enabling them to exercise their traditional rights to their ances- tral land. Agreements under the Philippine law and voluntary assistance have given some benefits to Bakun over the years from the hydroelectric companies. Now, development of a con- ditional, realistic and pro-poor reward mechanism as a new environmental instrument comes as a challenge for the IPs since it entails a major change in the roles they would be playing. This paper presents the struggle of the Bakun IPs and the strategies and actions they have taken towards a pro-poor reward mecha- nism.
Publication year
2007
Authors
Language
English
Keywords
farm budgets, farming systems, rubber industry, indigenous knowledge systems
Geographic
Philippines
