BAGUIO CITY – The rapid deterioration of the world’s environment aggravated by the worsening effects of climate change have triggered a call to action among peoples to value the importance of the environment to their way of life and sustaining biodiversity.
Global, indigenous peoples (Ips) and indigenous cultural communities (ICCs) are inherently resilient in dealing with the challenges that confront them, especially the impact of natural and man-made calamities to their environment and living conditions.
In the Philippines, The Cordillera is predominantly inhabited by IPs and ICCs with over 92 percent of the inhabitants belonging to various tribes that are living in the six provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province and the cities of Baguio and Tabuk.
The Cordillera IPs and ICCs have been well known for their age-old and time-honored indigenous forest management practices that had helped sustain the region’s identity as the Watershed Cradle of Northern Luzon being the headwaters of major river systems as the Chico, Magat, Abra and Agon rivers linking with other river systems like the mighty Cagayan River providing abundant water supply for numerous proposes for people living in the lowland communities.
Among the well-known indigenous forest management practices of the Cordillerans that had been effectively and efficiently passed on to generations include the “muyung” system in Ifugao province, the “lakon” or batangan in Mountain Province, the “imongin” in Kalinga province, the “chontog” in Benguet province and Apayao’s version of “lapat.”
Lapat is primarily a religious practice, not a conservation method. A parcel of forest land is declared lapat after its Isnag owner dies, turning it into an off-limits area out of respect for the spirit of the owner who is thought to be wandering in his lapat for the same to be preserved and protected that paved the way for Apayao to remain as the most forested province in the region with more than 7- percent of its land area that remains to be full of century-old trees.
For western Mountain Province’s batangan system, the indigenous socio-political administrators of the ‘batangan ’are the primary responsible persons in the management of the ‘batangan’ which include the village group or ‘dumap-ay’ administrators who are the active elders of the ‘dap-ay’ relied upon and responsible in the so-called socio-cultural institution and who are recognized based on credibility and commitment to the welfare of the villagers; the clan administrator or ‘menbantay’ or the caretaker who is usually the oldest or sometimes the ‘takba’ holder, who is designated by the clan forest owners to undertake the responsibility and lead role in the protection and management of the said forest; the family administrators who are traditionally the head of the family, however, in cases of incapacity or absence in the community, the children consensually perform as a body in the management of the family’s woodlot and community elders who are usually the members of a specific community recognized and accepted through reliability and standing in the implementation of desired activities for the interest of the indigenous peoples.
Further, Batangan or lakon or saguday are the woodlots under ownership of a clan, family or the dap-ay in western Mountain Province. Tayan refers to the corporate property among the Bontoc Kankanaeys. It consists of forested lots managed and exclusively used by a clan, specifically a bilateral descent group.
In 2015, the Cordillera Administrative Region Association of State Universities and Colleges (CARASUC) produced a book entitled ‘Guardian of the Forest, Stewards of the Land’ that discussed the well established indigenous forest management practices of the different tribes that allowed them to maintain a good state of the environment within their communities.
Further, the book was meant to have an inventory and describe the Cordillera’s indigenous knowledge regarding environmental protection.
By keeping a record of these practices, the book’s authors hope upland traditions would be conserved and used to address climate change and impart to the youth the importance of said practices and passing it on to the upcoming generations amidst the evident threats of the advancement of information and communication technology that tends to compromise the understanding of millennials on the preservation and protection of such systems.
Records from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) showed that the remaining forest cover in the Cordillera spans 665,603 hectares, down from 1,553,599 ha of its original forest areas the book offers an account of how traditions helped maintain and govern the upland environment.
It will also help educate Cordillerans about their heritage and encourage them to adopt these practices which now poses a serious threat to the region’s status as the Watershed Cradle of the North. Abra’s forest, the DENR said, spans 98,790 hectares; Ifugao, 72,955 hectares; Kalinga, 84,949 hectares; Mountain Province, 75,733 ha; Apayao, 232,199 hectares ; and Benguet, 100,977 hectares.
In this modern age, the youth’s understanding on the importance of nurturing the well established indigenous forest management practices is actually being compromised by the ongoing rapid advancement of information and communication technology where the young people are now busy with their gadgets instead of actively participating in efforts to sustain the preservation and protection of the environment and learning about the traditional ways of passing on to the upcoming generations said practices that will contribute in maintaining a good state of the environment.
For 21-year old Ranyag Anthony Quitasol, a Grade 12 student of the Baguio Central University (BCU), whose mother is from Kailangan, Ifugao and his father is from Mabalite, Tadian, Mountain Province, he is lucky to have been properly informed by his grandparents from his mother side on the important role that the ‘muyung’ or communal forest has played in providing available sources of food for the people and sustaining abundant water supply for the rice terraces below it through the past decades up to date.
When he was in the elementary grade, he spent his vacation in his mother’s place and inquired from his grandmother on the presence of the thickly forested areas above the rice terraces not only in their place but also in other areas in the province.
His grandmother was quick to respond that the forested areas above the rice terraces in their place is the so-called ‘muyung’ or communal forest that serves as the source of food for the people because of the abundance of various kinds of edible plants and animals aside from providing abundant water for the terraces to ensure better harvests for the rice farmers.
“I am lucky that I came to learn about the importance of our indigenous forest management practices in sustaining food security and water supply not only for us but also for our brothers and sisters in the lowland communities. It is important that such proven way of preserving and protecting our environment should be properly passed on to the upcoming generations of Cordillerans,” the young Quitasol stressed.
He also saw similarly thickly forested areas in his father’s hometown when he was given the chance to visit the said place while on a vacation from school that made him realize the richness of the culture and traditions of Ips in putting premium in being able to live with nature.
However, he admitted that it seems that such best practices on managing the region’s forests are being compromised by modern technology where the youth are now heavily exposed to the social media that they already forget the importance of traditional ways of doing things, especially in caring for the environment, which now diminishes the chance of passing on to upcoming generations a good state of the environment.
Aside from the ongoing massive and uncontrolled deforestation to give way for the establishment of commercial agriculture farms on the mountain slopes, he claimed that one of the serious challenges being encountered by today’s youth is their alleged inability to value the importance of passing on to upcoming generations a good state of the environment considering their pre-occupation to modern technology.
“We need to be immersed in communities that continue to practice the time-honored ways of allowing our forests to replenish what had been consumed so that there will be no imbalance between the state of the environment and the needs of people living within the communities,” he added.
Moreover, Quitasol suggested that the indigenous forest management systems and practices should also be incorporated as part of science subjects in basic education so that today’s youth will be taught on how to put premium in efforts to preserve and protect the environment through the time-honored indigenous forest management practices of the various tribes in the region.
The Ifugao’s ‘muyung’ continues to be nurtured by farmers who till the province’s rice terraces.
One of the salinet aspects of the ‘muyung’ is that the eldest of the family of clan is responsible for protecting their ‘muyung’s’ so that it could be passed down to their children. Ifugaos are known to be clannish than communal that is why clans not villages build and tend their ‘muyung’ which serves as the clan’s source of wood and other forest products apart from serving as its source of livelihood because some families have planted coffee, rattan and fruit-bearing trees for commercial use.
Environmentalists claimed that planting different tree species is essential to the ‘muyung’ because it keeps the mountain’s biodiversity alive that is why Ifugaos usually look for various plants and even animals to propagate in their ‘muyung.’
“Non-negotiable’ was the response of 23-year old Peachy Clarisse Tillay, a graduating Bachelor of Arts in Communication student of the Catholic-run Saint Louis University (SLU) in Baguio City, who hails from Viewpoint Banaue, Ifugao when asked on her view on the need to sustain the practice of ‘muyung’ that must be passed on to the younger generations.
Banaue hosts the inscribed rice paddies which is a well-known United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO) World heritage site.
She claimed that she had been hearing about the time-honored practice of ‘muyung’ by the Ifugaos but she was not actually properly exposed to the same despite having been raised in the locality.
“My childhood friends usually tease me in relation to our culture. I want to learn more about it and put it to practice so that I will be able to contribute in passing to the upcoming generations of Ifugao youth our rich culture and traditions worthy of emulation by others,” Tillay, who is also the secretary of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) in barangay Viewpoint, stated.
She pointed out that today’s youth must be aggressive in preserving and protecting the environment so that the upcoming generations will also be able to enjoy the good state of the environment that will be passed on to them by the present generations so that today’s youth will not be blamed for their failure to do what is right for their children and their children’s children.
According to her, people across all ages should endeavor to put value on individual and collective initiatives that will guarantee the sustainable preservation and protection of the environment because it is the source of food and other basic needs to live a decent life and that they should not wait for nature to get back at them for their inability to protect it.
For his part, 23-year-old Jimmig Malingan, also a graduating Bachelor of Arts in Communication student of SLU, who hails from the capital town of Lagawe, Ifugao, pointed out the need for him to assimilate to the situation in their community so that he will be able to internalize the practice of the ‘muyung’ and be able to contribute in the ongoing efforts to inform and educate the youth on the importance of playing a vital role in environmental preservation and protection.
Malingan said it is still best for the youth to understand that important role of the forests in the way of life of the people so that they will be able to realize the urgent to protect and preserve and even work for the expansion of the deteriorating forest cover for them to enjoy a good state of the environment that could be passed on to the upcoming generations.
“We do not want our children and children’s children to put the blame on us for our failure to pass on to them a good state of our environment that is why we should heed the call of concerned stakeholders for us to step up in helping preserve and protect our forests in whatever way we can” Malingan said.
He proposed that the social media should be responsibly used by concerned stakeholders to aggressively advocate for the intensified efforts to preserve and protect the environment so that the youth will be able to relate to the situation aside from ongoing information and education campaigns in the mainstream and traditional media.
On the part of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Cordillera regional executive director Engr. Paquito Moreno recognized the important role of the youth in environmental preservation and protection that is why he encouraged them to actively participate in ongoing reforestation efforts as one of the major components of increasing the greenery of the region’s denuded mountains.
“We have to be aggressive in the implementation of our reforestation programs vis-à-vis the rapid deterioration of our existing forest cover. It is never too late but we have to sustain the gains of the past for us to achieve our goal of significantly increasing our forest cover in the next several years,” Moreno stated.
Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) and board member Thomas Tawagen, Sr. of Mountain Province disclosed that there is an ongoing effort in the national level to institutionalize the ‘batangan’ system of the province so that it will be applicable nationwide.
However, he admitted that the final guidelines are still being ironed out for submission to the higher authorities for the issuance of the required memoranda that will mandate the nationwide implementation of the age-old and time-honored indigenous forest management practice that was able to maintain the balance between the environment and the implementation of development projects within communities inhabited by Ips.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed that our Batangan system will be nationally institutionalized and will serve as a benchmark of all ongoing environmental preservation and protection initiatives by local governments. We hope it will happen the soonest,” Tawagen emphasized.
Tawagen is serving his second term as the province’s IPMR and has been strongly advocating for the aggressive efforts to impart to the youth the practice of indigenous forest management practices that had played a vital role in sustaining the current state of the region’s environment amidst threats of rapid conversion of forests to commercial vegetable farms that have threatened the mountains over the past several years.
He expressed hope that the youth will value the aforesaid initiative so that a better state of the environment will be passed on to the upcoming generations of inhabitants and provide them with sustainable sources of livelihood without threatening the forest cover of the mountains. By Dexter A. See