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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
First Regular Session
(S /firt of
)
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)
SENATE
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Introduced by SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA
AN ACT PROTECTING AND STRENGTHENING THE INDIGENOUS
PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES CONSERVED AREAS,
RECOGNIZING THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO BIODIVERSITY
CONSERVATION, ESTABLISHING FOR THE PURPOSE THE
NATIONAL ICCA REGISTRY, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
E x p lan ato ry Note
Indigenous peoples communities have always played an important
role in the conservation and preservation of the country’s protected
areas. Known as indigenous communities conserved areas (ICCAs),
“these are areas within ancestral domains including lakes, coastal
seas, forests, and watershed imbued with deep spiritual and
cultural values for indigenous peoples.”
A good example of an ICCA is the ancestral domain of the
Tagbanuas in the island of Coron in northeastern Palawan. Only
traditional fishing methods are allowed within its ancestral waters
given the sacred nature of the place among the Tagbanuas.
It is about time that the national government give due importance
and role to the indigenous communities as partners in the
conservation of protected areas found within their ancestral
domains.
For these reasons, immediate passage of the bill is sought.
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