Filipino Indigenous Leader Takes Ancient Wisdom to the Global Stage

Active Citizens , Aid , Asia-Pacific , Biodiversity , Civil Society , Climate Change , Conferences , Conservation , Development & Aid , Editors' Choice , Environment , Featured , Global , Headlines , Human Rights , Humanitarian Emergencies , Natural Resources , Ocean Health , Sustainable Development Goals , TerraViva United Nations Indigenous Rights

Giovanni B. Reyes, an indigenous leader from the Philippines, speaking in an exclusive interview with IPS about traditional knowledge as a cultural repository and a tool for survival in a world battered by environmental degradation. Credit: Kizito Makoye/IPS

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, Jun 3 2026 (IPS) - Every year, when dark clouds gather above the dense forests of the Philippines, 56-year-old Mini Baeyens, of the Aplay Kankanaey tribe, vigilantly watches the sky.

One afternoon, as he prepared to trek into the forest to gather medicinal plants, a majestic Philippine eagle emerged from the canopy and hovered above. To outsiders, it was simply a rare bird in flight. To Baeyens, it was a messenger.

His grandfather had taught him to observe carefully. The eagle’s appearance at unusual times and the direction of its flight often signal changes in weather or warn of danger.

That day, Baeyens abandoned his journey. Hours later, heavy rains pounded the mountains, triggering cascading floods and landslides that swept through nearby communities.

For generations, Indigenous peoples in the Philippines have relied on traditional knowledge to survive in landscapes increasingly battered by environmental degradation.

“There is this certain time of the day or week or month that the eagle appears and it’s only the indigenous community in that area that can interpret what the message is that the wildlife in the form of a Philippine eagle provides,” Giovanni Reyes, an Indigenous leader from the Philippines, explained using the anecdote based on Baeyens’ experience.

Such warnings, Reyes tells IPS, create a relationship of reciprocity between wildlife and people.

“When the eagle provides you warnings, the people will in turn protect the habitat,” Reyes says. “The protection of that habitat resulted in conservation of the territory.”

Sometimes, he explains, the eagle’s appearance signals danger.

“They will say that there is going to be a big storm coming because of the appearance of the eagle and so therefore nobody should go out because of the danger that it poses.”

As government ministers, environmental experts, and civil society representatives gather this week in Samarkand for the Eighth Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly in search of solutions for financing the global environmental crisis, Indigenous leaders say stories like Baeyens’ reveal an often-overlooked truth: Indigenous knowledge is not only cultural heritage but also a practical tool for survival.

For the first time in the history of international environmental finance, Indigenous peoples are increasingly being recognised not merely as beneficiaries of conservation projects but as partners, advisers and rights holders whose knowledge systems are essential for achieving global climate and biodiversity goals.

The GEF-9 replenishment cycle marks a significant shift, with Indigenous Peoples set to be formally recognised and engaged as key partners in safeguarding the world’s remaining natural ecosystems and in incorporating their contributions into global conservation efforts.

Delegates attending the GEF Assembly 2026 follow proceedings. Credit: Kizito Makoye/IPS

At the centre of this shift is Giovanni Reyes, Chair of the Indigenous Peoples Advisory Group (IPAG) to the GEF, one of the world’s largest environmental funding mechanisms.

Born in Sagada in the mountainous Cordillera region of the northern Philippines, Reyes belongs to the Kankana’ey Indigenous people. His advocacy emerged from witnessing what he describes as “development aggression” in Indigenous territories.

“One of the compelling reasons why I had to develop a position for and on behalf of Indigenous communities is because of development aggression that has taken place in our region, including large-scale logging and dams that would have put communities underwater,” he says.

His work has taken him from remote mountain villages to global environmental negotiations, where he argues that Indigenous communities must be recognised not as obstacles to development but as guardians of ecosystems.

A defining moment came in 2011 when Reyes participated in a nationwide effort to map Indigenous territories across the Philippines.

For Indigenous communities, mapping involves far more than drawing boundaries. It means translating centuries of oral knowledge into evidence that is recognised by governments and institutions.

“We have to translate the indigenous knowledge about terrain, about their landscapes – about their boundaries and translate this in their physical dimension in the form of maps,” Reyes explains.

The resulting maps became powerful…