Dumagats as Environmental Stewards and their Role in Sustainable Development using Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Many indigenous and local communities live in territories that are biologically outstanding on a global scale. Traditional indigenous territories have been estimated to cover up to 24 percent of the world’s land surface and contain 80 percent of the earth’s remaining healthy ecosystems and global biodiversity priority areas. A significant fraction of the world’s protected areas is found within or overlaps with indigenous lands, territories and resources. This remarkable spatial convergence presents both an enormous opportunity as well as a challenge for conservation efforts in protected areas and in the larger production landscape. Indigenous communities have also been responsible for the preservation and maintenance of traditional knowledge and practices that are highly relevant for the use of biodiversity. This nexus makes it imperative that the rights, interest and livelihoods of indigenous communities are respected and reinforced in all relevant tourism planning projects (Global Environment Facility, 2007). The Dumagat people are an indigenous group of Filipinos found along the coast of the Pacific ocean and in the hinterlands of the Sierra Madre mountains in the eastern part of the Luzon island, Philippines. They generally resemble the other Negrito groups such as the Aetas of Pinatubo mountain, Ati of Panay island and the Ata-Manobos of Davao and North Cotabato provinces. The Dumagats, however, are taller and of bigger built than the Ati and Aeta groups based on the study conducted by Blumentritt in 1980 and Eranista in 1994 respectively. The term dumagat, derived from the Tagalog word dagat meaning sea, refers to people living along the sea. Economically stronger ethnic groups, e.g. the Tagalogs, have “pushed” the Dumagats up the mountains. Some Dumagats prefer to be called Agta which means people in the Dumagat language (UPM Journal, 1998). In this study, using ethnographic research method, the traditional ecological knowledge and practices of the Dumagats have been identified which play a pivotal role in ensuring sustainable development in their areas and also highlighted their roles as stewards of the environment.