The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in partnership with the World Bank will be spearheading a three-day Regional Conference for the Recognition and Formalization of Land Rights in Forest Areas

The main objective of the conference is to provide platform for the presentation and in-depth discussion of the PROGREEN Action Plans for the Philippines, Indonesia, and Laos. PROGREEN is a World Bank multi-donor trust fund that aims to strengthen the capacity of the World Bank, selected government agencies, and relevant stakeholders to enhance land tenure security of all land holders in forest areas in the Region.

The conference scheduled on February 5-7, 2024 at Tag Resort, Coron, Palawan will be participated by delegates from neighboring ASEAN nations namely Lao Peoples Democratic Republic and the Republic of Indonesia. Further, key officers from various National Government Agencies viz. the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Land Registration Authority (LRA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), and the Climate Change Commission (CCC) together with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) will be representing the Philippine Government.

Ultimately, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples recognizes the indispensable role of ICCs/IPs in the protection and preservation of forests and the natural resources found in their Ancestral Domain through their Indigenous Knowledge, Systems, and Practices.  Thus, the agency strongly supports the recognition and formalization of the tenurial rights of the ICCs/IPs.