Palawan indigenous youth gather for a just minerals transition

Youth leaders from Palaw’an, Batak, and Tagbanua indigenous peoples held the first Kageg’baan baw Kadanuman (KBK) on Oct 25-28, 2025, a youth camp equipping them to

assert their rights over ancestral lands and resources in Palawan. The province is under siege from large-scale metallic mining projects, including nickel, for the production of renewable energy technologies.

The three-day event also commemorated the 38th anniversary of the passing of the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997, highlighting the history of struggle of the elders who stood up for future generations.

Kageg’baan means “the forest” in the languages of the Batak, Tagbanua, and Palaw’an tribes, while on the other hand, Kadanuman means “the waters”. The title pays homage to the interdependent relationship between indigenous peoples and nature.

Thus, the activity had the overarching theme, "Kabataang katutubo, patuloy na ipaglaban ang karapatan sa loob ng lupaing ninuno at ipagtatanggol ang kalikasan!" (Indigenous youth, continue to fight for rights within ancestral lands and defend nature!).

Indigenous peoples' 'Right to Say No' to extractives amid the energy transition is one of the principles of a just minerals transition being advocated by LRC. (Read LRC's paper on this issue here.)

LRC and its community partner, the Nagkakaisang mga Tribo ng Palawan (NATRIPAL) co-designed the pilot program for the KBK to enhance practical skills and advocacy capabilities that are indispensable for effective environmental defense and climate resilience. The training modules provided a total of 31 participants with tools to document their resources, articulate their concerns, and communicate their conservation efforts effectively. 

The first learning session was led by Ryan Racela, a social media content creator and filmmaker. His session on multimedia work involved best practices to capture audiences and build online communities for policy advocacy. The participants were given photo and video editing exercises using their mobile phones, with strong encouragement to apply them in their own documentation of the event.

Two policy advocacy sessions were then facilitated by Atty. Tonet Ramos, a research fellow of LRC, to highlight roles of the youth and women in decision-making within Ancestral Domain Management Councils (ADMC), as well as fostering organizing and networking within the province.

The first session tackled indigenous rights with the IPRA as the foundation, while the second session focused on localizing the Alternative Minerals Management Bill (AMMB) and harnessing the provincial mining moratorium.  The AMMB is a proposed law that seeks to strengthen environmental and social safeguards againts mining. (Learn more about the AMMB here.)

A presentation was also given by Conservation International’s Erickson Tabayag on their partnership with Palaw’an communities in Southern Palawan for the development and implementation of an integrated management plan in the Mt. Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (MMPL).

The project centered on the intersection of science and indigenous knowledge systems and practices (IKSPs) on forest management, featuring endemic species found in the MMPL. The session demonstrated what IPs were capable of in sequestering and storing blue carbon via ecosystem services, instead of false solutions.

A community mapping session was also held to enhance the participants' understanding of their ancestral domains. They mapped resources and existential threats such as granted mining exploration and quarrying permits despite the provincial mining moratorium. This was then followed by another session on legal documentation in order to identify such threats. 

The initiative also provided a space to present to youth leaders different IKSPs essential for sustainable resource management. After the sessions on the second day, the attendees shared seven different tribal dances,  five recipes and several ingredients from their ancestral domains in a cultural night that also fostered camaraderie for future advocacy work.

On the final day, participants visited the Simpukan-Bagong Bayan-Napsan ADMC and simulated documentation of important issues faced by the Puerto Princesa Central Tagbanua. After their visit, the youth camp concluded with a presentation of videos made by the participants highlighting their experiences in the past three days.  

An assessment session between LRC and NATRIPAL identified the following outcomes and recommendations: 

• The event was welcomed by NATRIPAL as a template for succeeding youth camps, and will also be developed further as part of a more comprehensive information and education campaign (IEC) plan for relevant policy advocacy work.

• The participants lauded the continued promotion of IKSPs activities, and requested more gamefied sessions for a more interactive experience fitting for the Gen Z and Gen Alpha audience.

• Finally, NATRIPAL also looks forward to campaign support in terms of legal advice on policy advocacy for AMMB localization via municipal ordinances centered on watershed conservation dialogues between local government units and indigenous youth leaders.