Dario Novellino
Dario received his Master in Social Anthropology from the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) in 1995, and his Doctorate in Environmental Anthropology from the University of Kent in 2003. However, rather than pursuing an academic career, he decided to dedicate his life to sustaining the indigenous peoples’ struggle for self-determination on the Island of Palawan (The Philippines). His effort to protect indigenous traditional resource rights has been relentless over the last 30 years, resulting in concrete local processes empowering local communities. Besides being a highly dedicated advocate and activist for indigenous peoples’ rights, he has also published in the fields of environmental anthropology, ethnobotany, indigenous knowledge, shamanism, ritual, cosmology and the anthropology of development. Currently, Dario works hand-in-hand with grassroots-based indigenous organizations in Palawan and he is an honorary fellow at the Centre for Biocultural Diversity (CBCD) of the University of Kent (UK).