The Batak live in the forests of northern Palawan in the western Philippines. They depend on a varied mix of cultivation, hunting, gathering and fishing.

Not to be confused with the populous and ethnically diverse Indonesian Batak of northern Sumatra, the Batak of the Philippines are a ‘negrito’ people.

They are believed to have originated from the first wave of human populations who crossed the land bridges connecting the Philippine islands with mainland Asia, some 50,000 years ago.

Many threats

A Batak man harvests honeycomb from the forest canopy © Dario Novellino

Today, the Batak are threatened by conservation schemes such as a government ban on shifting cultivation and the declaration of ‘protected areas’ within their ancestral lands.

There are now around 300 Batak, down from about 700 in 1900. Land seizure, logging and exposure to disease are great dangers.

Severe undernourishment has made them more vulnerable to diseases such as malaria, measles and tuberculosis.

They also suffer from high infant mortality and low birth rates. The small Batak population means young people often have to marry outside the tribe.

How does Survival help?

When the local government outlawed the Batak’s farming methods in 1994, rice yields fell dramatically and the tribe was on the brink of devastation.

They had little choice but to collect and sell more forest products, but this meant an overall depletion of vital resources.

Survival launched a campaign, which resulted in a partial lifting of the ban. The authorities admitted that the Batak had been ‘adversely affected by the policy’.

Survival is lobbying for the recognition of the their right to live on and use their lands according to their own wishes.

You too can join the effort. Write a letter and help keep up the pressure on the Philippines government. Your voice may be crucial for the Batak to survive.