Science and tradition: how indigenous communities manage forests

Imagine a sustainable community-based forest management system — payment for ecosystem services — and a landscape approach for protection and conservation rolled into one. It may sound utopian but it exists and has been practised for centuries by an indigenous group in the Philippines.

Known locally as ‘muyong,’ this traditional land-use zoning system of the Ifugao group is usually applied along mountain peaks and mid-slopes in the Cordillera region in northern Philippines. These areas are either privately or clan-owned, providing water to nearby rice fields and terraces. They are also sources of fuelwood, construction material, edible fruit, and raw material for the wood-carving livelihood of the Ifugao.