The race to document Indigenous knowledge to protect Philippines’ birds
In the forests of the Philippines’ Mindoro Island, an urgent effort is underway to record the vanishing ecological knowledge of the Indigenous Iraya Mangyan community. As elders age and fewer young people learn beside then, and deforestation and infrastructure development threaten the island’s endemic wildlife, traditional knowledge holders are partnering with conservationists to document…
On Mindoro Island in the Philippines, Indigenous Iraya Mangyan elders are working with conservationists to preserve their community's knowledge of the region's flora and fauna. As younger generations become less familiar with this traditional ecological wisdom, and deforestation and infrastructure projects threaten the island's unique wildlife, the community is collaborating with the Center for Conservation Innovations Philippines (CCIPH) to document vital information.
This knowledge includes how local birds, such as the turis, siruk, and sulit, guide the Iraya's daily lives and inform their forest protection efforts. The turis and siruk are classified as vulnerable, while the sulit is considered near threatened on the IUCN Red List. These birds hold significant cultural and spiritual importance for the Iraya, with the sulit being linked to deceased family members and the siruk's calls said to carry special meanings.
Overlapping with the UNESCO-designated Puerto Galera Biosphere Reserve, the Iraya's ancestral domain spans roughly 40,000 hectares and is the focus of the CCIPH's Mindoro Forest and Biodiversity Programme.
Written by urgent.news from Mongabay's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
