Green Journal

I worked for conservation the Philippines for about 7 years now. It is alarming that conservation activities have caused traditional owners become refugees in their own ancestral domain. It might be different here in the Philippines where we have the IPRA Law or the Indigenous People's Rights Act. IPRA enables these people to have their Certificate of Ancestral Domain like the case of the Tagbanua's in Coron and the highlanders in Mt. Guiting Guiting. They are protected from being evicted from their own ancestral domain that has been declared a national park. But this is not true for all countries. There has been refugees of conservation. In the name of "preserving biodiversity" large conservation organizations (with the help of The World Bank, governments, and corporate donors) have caused massive displacement and cultural genocide across six continents. Tens of millions of native people have so far been evicted from their traditional lands, many to languish in borde

Trees with aerial roots and muddy grounds, swamps and smelly water--these are mangroves. Ugly duckling though they appear, they play an important role in conserving our environment. The recent tsunami last Dec 26, 2004 emphasized their capacity to protect our shores from big waves. An environmental service that if evaluated is the equivalent of building a multi million dike to protect our shores from the elements. All these are provided by our mangroves. Many small NGOs in the Philippines are doing their share in developing community-based conservation project for mangroves. I found this interesting article of a joint article about a project by FPE and TK.

Our environment also includes the people who live in it. Let us make a difference by helping out on AIDS research. Click here to donate Visit www.lighttounite.com, click where you live on the globe(wait for it to draw it with the ribbon), and choose the reason you want them to make a donation[strenght, hope, love, etc.]. They will donate $1 to HIV/AIDS research for each person. This is available only tonight. Spread the word.