This book offers an innovative and refreshing look at forest conservation in Palawan Island, the Philippines, where the indigenous Batak peoples make a living from shifting cultivation and collection of non-timber forest products. Through a systematic comparison of Batak practices with those of lowland Filippino migrants, the author demonstrates how the traditions and beliefs of the Batak can help to conserve one of the world's most precious resources, forests. He argues that, in order to harness the strengths of the traditional Batak system, and deal with its weaknesses, grassroots communities need to be empowered to develop and enforce incentives for the sustainable use and conservation of forests.