The Ikalahan Ancestral Domain Proposed Forest Carbon Development

The Ikalahan, which literally means people of the mossy upland forests or people of the broadleaf forest is the tribal name of the indigenous people behind the proposed forest carbon development. For centuries, the Ikalahan lived in the area where hunting, gathering of forest products and swidden farming were their means of survival,
planting crops like sweet potato, ginger, gabi, cassava and other vegetables and terracing to plant upland rice.
They were considered squatters until they organized and gained tenure over the lands through a Memorandum of Agreement between the Kalahan Education Foundation (KEF) representing the Ikalahan and the
government through the-then Bureau of Forest Development. Nearly 15 000 ha of the Ancestral Domain Claim was designated as the Kalahan Reserve. The Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claim (CADC) was issued in 1999, and the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) was issued in 2005.