DENR taps indigenous knowledge to boost Philippine eagle conservation

The government's latest initiative to protect the Philippine eagle will also empower indigenous peoples (IPs) by integrating traditional knowledge with modern conservation practices, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.

The DENR on Tuesday launched the Integrated Approach in Management of Major Biodiversity Corridors in the Philippines, a component of the broader Biodiversity Corridor Project.

The initiative aims to strengthen community-driven conservation planning in key ancestral domains within the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor (EMBC).

“The initiative recognizes the critical role of ancestral domains as sanctuaries and refugia for the Critically Endangered Philippine Eagle and the endemic biodiversity it represents,” DENR Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said in a statement.

“These landscapes encompass some of the remaining high-quality forest habitats that provide refuge for Philippine Eagles and other threatened and endemic species, making indigenous stewardship an essential component of landscape-scale biodiversity conservation,” he added.

The initiative will enable indigenous communities to integrate customary governance and traditional knowledge systems with conservation science, spatial planning, measurable conservation targets, and community-based biodiversity monitoring, the DENR said.

“The scientific evidence reinforces the need to recognize indigenous territories as vital components of the broader conservation landscape,” Cuna said.

Citing a 2025 study funded by the Biodiversity Corridor Project, the DENR said 46% of high-suitability Philippine eagle nesting habitat is located within indigenous ancestral domains. More significantly, 65% of the species' core high-suitability nesting habitat is within ancestral domains.

The study also found that the EMBC contains 35% of the country's total high-suitability Philippine eagle nesting habitat.

Cuna said field evaluations, consultations, and strategic planning for the initiative will begin in the coming months.

“By strengthening conservation planning within ancestral domains, the initiative will help secure forest refugia for the Philippine Eagle and the wider community of endemic and threatened species that share these landscapes, while advancing the integrated corridor-management objectives of the Biodiversity Corridor Project,” Cuna said.

The Philippine eagle, also known as the monkey-eating eagle, is the country's national bird and is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Only about 400 pairs are estimated to remain in the wild.

It is found only in the Philippines, particularly on the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao, according to the Philippine Eagle Foundation. — VBL, GMA News