NCIP, UNDP highlight $4.5M ancestral domain project for Mindanao women

 

MANILA, Philippines — State and international development agencies highlighted the ongoing implementation of an ancestral domain planning initiative in Mindanao during the observance of Cultural Communities Week.

Launched in May, the $4.5 million, New Zealand-funded Indigenous Women and Girls-Leadership and Empowerment in Ancestral Domains (I-LEAD) project covers four ancestral domains. It targets the Ata in Davao City; Tagakaulo and Blaan in Malita, Davao Occidental; Obo Monuvu in Magpet, Cotabato; and Tboli and Manobo in Sarangani.

Managed by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Development Programme, the initiative aims to enhance the leadership capacities of 1,600 indigenous women and girls by addressing barriers to governance and economic participation.

A key strategy involves supporting partner communities in preparing gender-responsive, investment-ready Community Resource Management Development Plans (CRMDPs).

Developed by the indigenous groups with NCIP technical assistance, these plans serve as comprehensive guides to sustainably manage, protect, and develop ancestral domains.

The project aims to integrate these resource plans into the annual investment blueprints of local government units to secure public and private funding for community priorities, including women-led enterprises and biodiversity conservation.

Scheduled to conclude in 2030, the project is establishing policy mechanisms to ensure local governments continue budgeting for these indigenous priority programs after international funding ends.

 

###