Four partner organizations of the the EED-TFIP will be presenting their research findings as part of its panel presentation to the forthcoming First International Conference on Cordillera Studies by the UP Baguio Cordillera Studies Center on 07 to 09 February 2008 at the University of the Philippines Baguio. The conference’s theme is entitled “Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Transition”.

With EED-TFIP convenor Jill Carino as the moderator, the panel will present cases from indigenous peoples communities revolving on the topic entitled, “Livelihood, Food and Vulnerability of Indigenous Peoples”. The presentations are as follows:

1. “Strategies employed by the Tagbanua in addressing the consequences of commercial fishing and tourism on their livelihood systems” - Ria Miclat-Teves, Project Development Institute (PDI), Quezon City
2. “Initial findings on the comparative study on the food and livelihood security on three rice varietal classes among farming communities in lowland Kalinga” - Florence Daguitan, Montanosa Resource and Development Center (MRDC), Sagada, Mountain Province.
3. “Food Insecurity and Vulnerability among the Dumagat in General Nakar, Quezon” - Aerosmith Masa, ntegrated Development Program for Indigenous People - Southern Tagalog (IDPIP-ST), Los Banos, Laguna
4. “The Adoption of Transgenic Corn Farming among the B’laan of Saranggani: A Study on their Food and Livelihood Security Situation” - Marila Castro, Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (SIBAT), Quezon City

This will be followed by a Synthesis by Gino Orticio and a short video feature on indigenous peoples’ issues.

The overall conclusion that can be constructed from this paper by Arturo Boquiren, Assistant Professor in Economics of the University of the Philippines - Baguio, is that “non-mining areas perform at least just as “good” as mining areas”. Thus, the author argues that “local government units that want their cities or municipalites to take off and take a higher growth path need not embrace large-scale mining”.

DOWNLOAD the paper (in PDF) HERE.

The Human Development Report 2007/2008 shows that climate change is not just a future scenario. Increased exposure to droughts, floods and storms is already destroying opportunity and reinforcing inequality. Meanwhile, there is now overwhelming scientific evidence that the world is moving towards the point at which irreversible ecological catastrophe becomes unavoidable. Business-as-usual climate change points in a clear direction: unprecedented reversal in human development in our lifetime, and acute risks for our children and their grandchildren.

GO to its UNDP site.

Or DOWNLOAD the Full Report (12 MB, in PDF) here.

The following link provides a background on the concept of food security. Please click HERE.