In the Philippines, a tribal leader guards a forest stronghold

In the lush forests in Mindanao, a diverse population of flora and fauna coexist in harmony. This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, meet Datu Ramil of the Higaonon tribe who acts as custodian of their ancestral lands and is undeterred in pushing for the protection and conservation of their last stronghold.

It was nearly midday when we reached the summit, but the sun had not yet touched the observation deck. The sea of green stretching across 3,700 hectares of the Higaonon tribe’s ancestral land in the Philippines’ Northern Mindanao region offered calm and quiet—until a short squeaky ngeek-ngeek echoed through the vast landscape.

The all-black female Mindanao hornbill (Penelopides affinis), just a few meters above us, was doing its routine check. “Now we know it’s time for lunch,” quipped Datu Lumiliwan Ramil Ansihagan, one of the community’s tribal leaders.

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