Displacement in the Name of Development. How Indigenous Rights Legislation Fails to Protect Philippine Hunter-Gatherers

Abstract

Yearly, development-induced displacement affects some 20 million people, a disproportionate share of whom are indigenous. Within the diverse category of indigenous peoples, hunter-gatherers are especially vulnerable to displacement as they form the least powerful sectors of society. While displacement poses a major threat to the few remaining hunter-gatherer peoples, case studies of how this process unfolds are scarce. This ethnographic study details how two decades of indigenous land rights legislation have been ineffective in preventing displacement of indigenous communities in the Philippines, through the case of Agta hunter-gatherers of Dimasalansan. The paper demonstrates how procedural inconsistencies, institutional competition and a development paradigm focused on commodification of land have undermined the legal titling process. We argue that the ensuing land-rush that currently displaces Agta is symptomatic for how the implementation of indigenous land rights legislation is undermined by business interests, thereby creating more uncertainty than certainty for the least powerful.

Women environmental human rights defenders in Nepal and the Philippines: unpacking the (mal)development–disaster risk relationship through lived experiences

“…In both countries, Indigenous communities have their own customary land systems, based on ancestral occupation of land and use of natural resources, sometimes nomadic, with the use of communal land such as forests and pastureland for cattle. However, they do not necessarily have legal recognition over it (Berger, 2019;Hagen & Minter, 2020).…”

Conservation Letter: Deforestation—The Philippine Eagle as a Case Study in Developing Local Management Partnerships with Indigenous Peoples

“…Conservation action (Gavin et al 2018) for raptors can be improved by including local and Indigenous rightsbased designs (Ogar et al 2020) in the Philippine Eagle habitats as outlined herein, and in other linked habitats where similar participatory programs have not yet been initiated (Hagen and Minter 2020). Local livelihoods have also been improved through limited Forest Guard honorariums and a recently initiated 500-km forest trail system designed to support ecotourism.…”

Knowledge and Practices of Indigenous Peoples in the Context of Resource Management in Relation to Climate Change in Southeast Asia

“…Their situation was aggravated by the impact of armed conflict between the Philippine National Army and communist insurgents, who used the remaining forest as their hiding place [39,40]. Over the past decade, Agta groups inhabiting the coastal areas have been displaced by tourism and infrastructural development [41,42].…”

“…Due to weak environmental governance and law enforcement, overharvesting of timber and non-timber forest products has continued [50]. The recent and contested construction of a road across the protected area is expected to further aggravate this situation [42].…”