7,641 islands. 110+ Indigenous groups. One of the most biodiverse places on Earth -- and one of the most vulnerable.
The center of the center of marine biodiversity. More species per unit area than anywhere else in the world's oceans.
The world's largest eagle by wingspan, found only in the Philippines. Fewer than 800 remain in the wild.
Creating extraordinary isolation-driven speciation. Over 50% of mammals and 70% of amphibians are found nowhere else.
The Philippines sits at the apex of the Coral Triangle, the global epicenter of marine biodiversity.
At the turn of the century, the Philippine archipelago was cloaked in dense tropical forest.
American and then Philippine timber concessions began systematic extraction of the archipelago's hardwood forests.
Logging concessions covered millions of hectares. The Marcos era saw some of the most rapid deforestation in Southeast Asian history.
After devastating floods and mudslides linked to deforestation, the Philippine government banned old-growth logging.
A century of extraction reduced forest cover from 70% to 24%. What remains is largely on Indigenous ancestral domains.
Philippine Indigenous Peoples have managed these forests for millennia. The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997 recognized their ancestral domain rights -- but implementation has been painfully slow.
IPRA established the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and created the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) as the legal instrument for recognizing Indigenous land rights. But 28 years after passage, only 257 of 948 applications have been approved.
A convergence of policy, markets, and urgency.
of Community-Based Forest Management Agreements are expiring, covering 909,000 hectares. Communities face losing management rights to forests they've protected for decades.
The Philippines is developing its own carbon market framework. Early movers who build community capacity now will be positioned to access both voluntary and compliance markets.
The Department of Energy is fast-tracking renewable energy permits. Forest communities sit on wind, solar, and micro-hydro potential that could generate both energy and revenue.
With typhoons intensifying, the economic case for mangrove restoration has never been stronger. Every hectare of mangrove provides Php 450,000 in annual coastal protection value.
Global climate finance is at record levels, but almost none reaches Indigenous communities. We bridge that gap.
CBFMA renewals, carbon market frameworks, and renewable energy policy are all in active development. The window is now.
After decades of fighting for recognition, Filipino Indigenous communities are organized, determined, and ready for partnership.
Philippine tropical forests store 150-250 tonnes of carbon per hectare -- among the highest in the world.
Mangrove forests reduce wave energy by up to 66%, protecting millions of coastal Filipinos from storm surge.
Philippine forests protect the watersheds that supply drinking water to 110 million people and irrigation for the country's rice bowl.
The Philippines' extraordinary endemism means its forest carbon credits carry a significant biodiversity co-benefit premium in voluntary markets.
Whether you're a community seeking support or an investor looking for impact, we'd love to hear from you.