Abstract
Indigenous peoples’ participation in the co-management of protected areas is recognised as essential for conserving both cultural and biological diversity. While this practice is increasingly common, few studies have quantitatively evaluated the efficacy of these initiatives. Here we examine levels of knowledge and involvement among the Agta, a hunter-gatherer population who co-manage the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, the largest protected area in the Philippines. We find that the Agta generally possess low levels of knowledge about the protected area they are supposed to co-manage. Participation in park management is hampered by several factors, including a lack of cultural sensitivity regarding the Agta’s foraging lifestyle among park officials and little political will to realistically empower and support the Agta as co-managers. Recommendations to strengthen Agta participation – and indigenous peoples’ participation in protected area management more widely – are made to help protect the world’s remaining cultural and biological diversity.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the Agta communities and field assistants for their help in the Philippines. Thanks also to Abigail Page and Mark Dyble regarding demographic data collection, and to Amanda Webber for helpful comments and feedback.
Funding
This research was supported by Leverhulme Trust grant no. RP2011 R045 (awarded to A.B.M).
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A.B.M. conceived the project. K.M. and D.S. collected the data. D.S. and K.M. analysed the data. All authors wrote the manuscript, contributed substantially to revisions and gave final approval for publication.
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Ethical clearance was granted by the University College London Ethics Committee (UCL Ethics code 3086/003). Fieldwork permission was granted by local government units, including the Mayors of the Municipalities visited, and by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as the research took place in a protected area. Each Agta community agreed to participate and informed consent was obtained from all individuals.
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Major, K., Smith, D. & Migliano, A.B. Co-Managers or Co-Residents? Indigenous Peoples’ Participation in the Management of Protected Areas: a Case Study of the Agta in the Philippines. Hum Ecol 46, 485–495 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-018-0007-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-018-0007-x