Bantay Kalasan (Forest Guards) of the Indigenous Higaonon tribe who are the traditional guar-dians of the Mt Kimangkil Range in Bukidnon undergoes training with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) from August 26-28, 2015 at Chali Beach Resort, this city to strengthen their stewardship over the unique bio-diversity and natural resources within their ancestral lands.
The three-day training which also includes a session to develop a three-year forest conservation plan is part of the Higaonon’s own initiative to sustainably manage their ancestral forest.
Nestled in the Bukidnon highlands, Mt Kimangkil is one of the world’s Key Biodiversity Areas so designated for its high levels of unique biodiversity. Part of its beautiful wildlife is the great Philippine Eagle, three species of rare hornbills, and several endangered Lauan or dipterocarp trees.
Mt. Kimangkil is at the same time within the 14,300 hectares of Higaonon ancestral domain in Impasug-ong, which is covered by Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) No. R10-IMP-1206-054 issued by the NCIP.
Datu Anaclito Sagula, Indigenous elder of AGMI HICU (Agtulawon-Minta-pod Higaonon Cumadon), the Indigenous Peoples Organization of Kimangkil, said that although they have always watched over their forests as part of their Ban-tay Kalasan functions, they wanted to learn new ways of doing monitoring to keep up with the changing times and opportunities. “I believe that we have plenty of knowledge already about nature, but I also believe there is still so much to learn,” said Sagula.
Datu Sagula is one of 13 Insaan (elders) who supervise the work of 36 Bantay Kalasan members from 12 villages living at forest fringes of Kimang-kil.
“It has been recognized globally that Indigenous peoples and their knowledge, systems and practices (IKSP) has much to offer in terms of solving the world’s environmental pro-blems. What we are doing in this training is to explore how we can combine these IKSPs with scientific knowledge to improve the way we care for Mt Ki-mangkil” said Director Roberto L. Almonte, Regional Director of NCIP Region 10.
According to Ferdi-nand Dagulo, DENR Community Environment Officer of Manolo Fortich, Mt. Kimangkil is also an important watershed that feeds the fertile valleys of Kalabugao Plains, which is famed as one of Bukid-non’s rice granaries.
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