Demography of the Koronadal B'la-an: A Comparative Study of Child Survival in the Tampakan Highlands, Southern Philippines

Abstract

The Tampakan Highlands of the Central Mindanao Cordillera in the Philippines have received international attention due to the discovery of a copper–gold deposit in the 1990s and subsequent minerals exploration and community development initiatives as part of the Tampakan Project. This book compares infant and child mortality parameters of indigenous B’la-an and Christian Visayan populations residing within the project area over a fifteen-year period (1983–97). In so doing, it uniquely profiles Highlands B'la-an peoples – forest slash-and-burn farmers and hunter–gatherers who have experienced little acculturation but who face potentially irrevocable changes should a large-scale mine be realised. Further, it explores the impact of maternal education and pioneering health-care efforts on infant and child survival in a politically volatile and socioeconomically disadvantaged area. These foci will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in demography, population health, biomedical sciences, social impact assessment, and anthropology, as well as Philippine, indigenous, and development studies.