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For their CADT application, the community documented and gathered the following information, with support from PAFID:

• historical evidence of occupation and use of the territory;
• history of the Manobo as a people and as a community;
• indigenous knowledge systems and practices (IKSP), spiritual beliefs, and traditional governance systems;
• photographs of important places, landmarks, traditional activities and livelihoods;
• genealogical trees and clan histories;
• anecdotal and quantitative data about natural resources;
• current community initiatives, situations, needs, opportunities, and threats;
• extensive socio-demographic data;
• geographical and physical description of the territory;
• current land uses and zonation; and
• boundaries and extent of the Manobo ancestral domain.

Initially done to satisfy government requirements for the recognition of their ancestral domain and to develop an Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP), this information proved useful for the documentation and registration of their ICCA and the consequent crafting of a Community Conservation Plan (CCP). Information was also gathered about their forest carbon stock, conservation activities, traditional knowledge and practices contributing to nature conservation, updated land uses, hazard-prone areas, and ecological significance and biodiversity values of the Pangasananan.

The FPIC document provided by the international ICCA Registry was translated into the local language and discussed with an initial group of leaders and members of the community. Each part of the document was explained and discussed, together with information on the benefits, advantages and limitations of uploading data to the ICCA International Registry and issues of data ownership, etc. In the end, the community decided that the benefits of inscription of their territory of life were more important than the limitations and risks also implied.

Community Research Associates (CRAs) were identified by community elders and leaders. They were then provided an orientation on the goals and objectives of the research as well as various methods of research and spatial data generation using participatory mapping methods. Finally, they were trained in the conduct of participatory natural resource appraisal.

Participatory research was accomplished through primary and secondary methods, including direct observation, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and review of existing literature, documentation, and research. These were conducted in both formal and informal settings, whichever was applicable. Informants were identified during the leaders’ and elders’ meetings and interviews. The research team also developed a checklist of existing, relevant documents from the community, the internet, government, and academia, as well as from prior databanks of PAFID.

Major research topics included the history of the Manobo; traditional and current livelihood activities and schedules; spiritual belief systems; rituals; management and use of natural resources; traditional and contemporary governance systems and structures; and history, location, description and stories about the Pangasananan. Also discussed were the threats to the territory of life and the Manobo people as its custodian. Finally, information was gathered about traditional arts, crafts, music, traditional healing practices; spirit myths; the history of culturally important places; important plants and their uses; and rituals (descriptions, materials used, and why were they used).

Participatory mapping entailed several steps, including:

• Field-based identification of important geographical features using GPS receiver;
• Construction of the 3-D map model;
• Land use coding;
• Digitalization of data and establishment of Geographic Information System (GIS) database;
• Community map validation; and
• Finalization of validated maps/GIS database.

Assisted by a PAFID technical team, GPS-trained members of the community conducted a field-based perimeter survey to delineate the Pangasananan. They took a perimeter walk to mark off the natural boundary lines and cultural markers of the domain. They also took point positions of important geographical features inside the domain. These included the location of barangay sitios (municipality buildings), schools, health centers, markets, bridges, concrete and rough roads, and rivers and streams. All the data gathered were overlaid on a topographic map. This was then used as the base map for determining the extent of the domain.

In 2009, a 3-D map with a scale of 1:10,000 had already been prepared by the community with the help of PAFID. In community workshops, PAFID technical staff had facilitated sketch mapping activities to enable the community to identify the limits of the Pangasananan and determine its full coverage. Community participants recalled and wrote the names of mountains, rivers, sacred areas, and old villages in the indigenous language and provided historical accounts of these. They identified important landmarks such as burial sites, caves, lakes, community boundaries, protected forests, and others. These sketch maps provided the basis for preparing larger topographic and base maps that were used to construct a relief model of their domain: a 3-D map!

Made mainly from overlapping rubber sheets, resin, and paint, the 3-D map offered a full view of the natural boundaries of the territory and detailed physical characteristics of the mountains and bodies of water. The elders described the current utilization of land and identified through pushpins, strings and paint the locations of sacred grounds, hunting areas, old dwelling sites, etc. inside the ancestral domain map. The information from the group was then consolidated and validated to ensure that the map was both accurate and user-friendly.

Data from the 3-D map was then digitized using computer software (Quantum GIS version 2.14.0 and ArcGIS version 10.1). Digitized copies of spatial information about the ancestral domain/ ICCA/ territory of life (the three were confirmed as synonymous for the community) were deposited into a GIS database and used in the production of several maps with different themes. Processing and production of various thematic maps was accomplished by PAFID’s GIS specialist. A total of 23 thematic maps were generated from the participatory map processing and through the GIS data obtained from the government, NGO partners, and online open-source GIS platforms such as Google Maps and OpenStreet Map. These maps are listed below:

• Location Map
• ICCA Boundary Map
• Overlap of ICCA and other CADT areas
• Present Land Use/Cover 2017
• Past Land Cover 1900
• Past Land Cover 1997
• Past Land Cover 2004
• Proposed Land Use
• Land Classification
• Mining Tenements
• NPAA (Network of Protected Areas for Agriculture)
• NPAAAD (Network of Protected Areas for Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Development)
• Soil Type
• Slope Classification
• Overlap of the ICCA and Tinuy-an Protected Landscape
• Overlap of the ICCA and Bislig[1] Key Biodiversity Area (KBA)
• Overlap of the ICCA and Bislig Important Bird Area (IBA)
• Fault Lines
• Landslide Susceptibility
• Flood Susceptibility
• Road Networks
• River Networks
• Resource Inventory

The precise and user-friendly maps merged local people’s knowledge and spatial data through GIS technology to serve as a powerful medium for better communication and analysis. These maps were useful in better understanding and describing the local situations, the location of hazards, the areas in need of reforestation and the forests in need of rehabilitation. The community also realized the importance of their ICCA—territory of life as a water source for Bislig and as a cradle of biodiversity. The community could then use this information to craft their proposed land uses, activities and policies.

[1] Bislig is a town in Mindanao close to the ancestral domain of the Manobo and famous for birdwatching.

A Participatory Appraisal was done to determine the situation and conditions of natural resources in the ancestral domain. The resource inventory assessed carbon stock in trees as well as floral biodiversity in forests within the Pangasananan.

A 1-kilometer transect line, two 500-meter transect lines and two 0.25-ha forest plots were established within the ICCA. Total above-ground carbon stock was derived with regression equations used by the Kalahan Education Foundation while biodiversity was estimated using species richness and diversity values derived from Shannon’s as well as Simpson’s diversity indices.

The faunal survey relied on anecdotal observations from the locals. Free-listing of names and uses of plants and animals observed by community were also done. Pictures of known birds and snakes were shown to community members to determine which ones were commonly sighted in the Pangasananan.

Information was also gathered on the floral type, location/habitat and service/value that the Traditional Indicator Species (floral species identified by the community as indicative of the health of their forest) provide to the tribe and its environment. The Manobo’s definition of a forest and the presence/absence of traditional indicator species were then used as basis to assess the indicative health of the inventoried forests.

The establishment of transect lines and assessment of biodiversity using internationally-used indexes, together with the identification of traditional indicator species, show how scientific and traditional methods can blend into simple techniques that the community understands, appreciates and can ultimately use to strengthen the governance of their territory of life.