Environmental Inequalities among Indigenous People in the Philippines: The Case of the Tagbanua in Tara Islands, Palawan

Abstract

The struggle of indigenous peoples in the Philippines over land
rights is a classic illustration of how existing social inequalities
beget environmental inequalities. Using the Environmental
Inequality Formation perspective, this paper examines the sociohistorical
processes that engender environmental inequalities
among the Tagbanua whose natural environment is threatened
by the loss and degradation of land and water resources. Based
on the narratives generated from oral histories, in-depth
interviews, archival documents, and small-group discussions,
these environmental inequalities were rooted in the
misconceptions by non-indigenous claimants regarding the
authenticity of indigenous identity of the Tagbanua, coupled by
the inaction or conflicting actions of the state at the local and
national levels. However, the resolve of the Tagbanua to
capitalize on state policy governing ancestral domains and
process it at the national level rather than combat contrary
actions of the state at the local level proves beneficial in
asserting their self-determination and eventually achieving
recognition of their ownership over their ancestral land and
water.