Joan Carling

Joan Carling (born 1963) is an indigenous Filipino human rights activist and environmentalist. She has protected the rights of the native and discriminated peoples for over twenty years. She has served as Secretary General of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP). She was a chairperson of the Cordillera People's Alliance in the Philippines. Carling has also contributed to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She has also contributed to the REDD+ activities. She has served as a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFii). In September 2018, she was given the Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Nations Environment Programme. It was in recognition of her work as an environmentalist and a defender of human rights.
Early life and career
She was born on 30 June 1963 in Baguio City. She is the daughter of a half-Japanese, half-Kankanaey father and a Kankanaey mother. The Kankanaey people belongs to the Igorot group. They are based in the Mountain Province in the Cordillera Central mountain range. After completing high school, she studied social sciences at the University of the Philippines, College of Baguio. She has specialized in sociology. She graduated in 1986.
While still at college, in 1984 she fell extremely sad with the murder of Macli-ing Dulag. The victim had been campaigning against the Chico River Dam Project. It was in order to protect the native Kalinga people. She attended his memorial in Sadanga. For the next three years after this, she joined in efforts towards community integration. She became a human rights activist in Kalinga.
In 1989, she attended a conference on ethnocide and militarization in Mindanao. During that time, she was one of 16 delegates to be arrested. It was because they were members of the Communist New People's Army. After a number of protests, they were finally released. In 1998, she campaigned against the construction of the San Roque Dam. On returning to Baguio, she joined the Cordillera Peoples Alliance. She became the Secretary General in 1997 and Chair from 2003 to 2006.
From September 2008, she served for two periods as Secretary General of the AIPP. She was representing its 47-member organization. She has written and edited publications on human rights, climate change, forest conservation, sustainable development and indigenous women. From 2014 to 2016, she served as member of the UNPFii. In 2014, she edited Her Story of Empowerment, Leadership and Justice. It was on indigenous women in Asia. It was published by AIPP.
She took the role of the Co-convener of the Indigenous Peoples Major Group on the Sustainable Development Goals. In February 2018, she was called as a terrorist by the Filipino authorities. It was for an alleged connection with the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army.
In September 2018, she received the Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Nations Environment Programme. It was in recognition of her work as an environmentalist and a defender of human rights.
In popular culture
Carling was one of the Filipino women importantly shown in an honour to female game changers at Irish rock band U2's 2019 Joshua Tree Tour during its Manila leg.