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The Burden of Responsibility: Predicaments of Environmental Life in the Caraballo Mountains, Northern Philippine

On Nov 17, Macario Lacbawan “nailed” his PhD thesis: it is now announced and handed over to the university library.

Based on twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork in the Caraballo Mountains in Northern Philippines, Macario explores how the Ikalahan people living there negotiate the consequences of their legal recognition as indigenous people. What happens when such a legal recognition demands that the Ikalahan re-fashion their ancestral land from a place where they practice swidden agriculture into a space where they are supposed to ensure environmental conservation? Macario’s thesis contributes to the expanding literature that shows how indigeneity is not a neutral label, but is, rather, a potentially burdensome positionality whose attachment to the environment is anything but straightforward.

Macario’s public PhD defense will take place on Dec 9 at 13.00, the Geijer Hall, Campus English Park, Uppsala University, Uppsala. All are welcome! 
Contact the Director of Studies Charlotta Widmark for information as how to follow the defense over Zoom.

Uppsala Universitet Open Access in DiVA: The Burden of Responsibility: Predicaments of Environmental Life in the Caraballo Mountains, Northern Philippines

Filipino
^{Batay sa labindalawang buwan ng etnograpikong pananaliksik sa Bulubunduking Caraballo ng Hilagang Pilipinas, inilirawan ni Macario Lacbawan kung paano hinaharap ng mga katutubong Ikalahan ang ibat-ibang hamong kaakibat ng kanilang pagkakilanlang legal. Ano-ano ang mga hamon kung ang kanilang legal na pagkilala mula sa estado ay humihiling na ang lupaing ninuno ay dapat ilaan lamang upang matiyak ang pangangalaga sa kapaligiran, at hindi para isagawa ang mga tradisyonal na aktibades tulad ng pagkakaingin? Ang tesis ni Ginoong Lacbawan ay nag-aambag sa lumalawak na literatura na nagpapakita kung paano ang “indigeneity” ay hindi isang neutral na konsepto, ngunit, isang potensyal na problemadong posisyon na may kaakibat na responsibilidad sa kapaligiran.}