From Consultation to Leadership: Asserting Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Update of the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted in 2022, marks a historic milestone in international environmental policy through its explicit and unequivocal recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ rights and contributions to conservation.

As a next step, Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity were required to update and revise their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) to align with the KMGBF within two years. These updates, still ongoing in many countries, provide a prime opportunity to strengthen Indigenous Peoples’ rights and integrate their knowledge.

This regional report is part of a series documenting Indigenous Peoples’ and advocates’ experiences with NBSAP revision processes in several Asian countries where AIPP members and partners are active. By examining both successful engagement strategies and persistent challenges, they offer insights for other Indigenous advocates, highlight key concerns for policy-makers, and point to important opportunities for allies to support Indigenous Peoples.

Philippines Country Spotlight

This paper documents Indigenous Peoples’ engagement in the update of the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP) following the adoption of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. It shows that despite strong legal recognition of Indigenous rights in the Philippines, Indigenous Peoples’ participation in the official PBSAP process was limited and largely consultative. In response, Indigenous organizations led their own year-long consultation process, resulting in the first Indigenous Peoples’ Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (IPBSAP), which articulates Indigenous priorities, rights, knowledge systems, and concrete commitments to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.

Click here to download the full Philippines Country Spotlight