Van der Ploeg, J. & A.B. Masipiqueña (Eds.). 2005. The future of the Sierra Madre: responding to social and ecological changes. CVPED. Golden Press, Tuguegarao. p. 339-362. 339 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CONTESTED CROCODILES? PHILIPPINE CROCODILE CONSERVATION AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS IN THE NORTHERN SIERRA MADRE Jan van der Ploeg and Merlijn van Weerd ABSTRACT The Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) is a critically endangered freshwater crocodile endemic to the Philippines. A small and fragmented population in the Northern Sierra Madre, Northeast Luzon, is currently considered to offer the best prospects for the survival of the species in the wild. Based on a detailed case study, the declaration of a Philippine crocodile sanctuary in Dinang Creek in the municipality of San Mariano, we review some of the premises on the relationship between indigenous peoples’ rights, rural poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation. The Kalinga are the indigenous people in this area. In Dinang Creek, crocodiles have survived as the unintentional consequence of a set of traditional beliefs and practices. However, Kalinga society and culture goes through a process of rapid change. As such these indigenous conservation practices are no longer a viable basis for protecting the Philippine crocodile in the wild. Paradoxically, it appears that Kalinga indigenous’ rights are used to mobilize resistance to the plans of the local government unit to establish a crocodile sanctuary. We argue that the micro- politics of crocodile conservation in San Mariano is not simply a struggle between indigenous people and conservationists for control over natural resources but rather the manifestation of broader political conflict in contemporary Philippine society. We conclude that the polarized discourse on conflicts between social justice advocates and environmentalists is in this particular case not particularly helpful in gaining an in-depth understanding of the current local reality. INTRODUCTION In October 2003, the Kalinga Minority Organization (KMO) put up a protest banner in the municipality of San Mariano: “Ipaglaban and karapatang angkinin and lupang pinaghirapan ng mga Kalinga!! Tao ang mahalaga kaysa sa buwaya!” (Fight for your rights to own the land for which the Kalinga sacrificed so much!! People are more important than crocodiles). This powerful message, written in Ilocano, seems to encapsulate the divergent interests between indigenous people and conservationists in the Northern Sierra Madre. Here, conservationists aim to protect the critically endangered Philippine crocodile in its natural habitat, apparently clashing with local communities who fear that their traditional rights will be violated. On first sight it appears to be a classic case in the growing body of literature on resource conflicts between external conservation agencies and indigenous people. Or isn’t it? On one hand, conservationists have been criticized for violating indigenous