Manila, Jan. 29 -- The New Zealand government is providing PHP247 million (USD4.5 million) to fund a four-year project in Mindanao to help provide leadership skills and economic opportunities to indigenous women and girls in Mindanao.

The initiative will be implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to cover beneficiaries in Regions 11 and 12.

Called the Indigenous Women and Girls - Leadership and Empowerment in Ancestral Domains (I-LEAD), the project will also help beneficiaries strengthen their resilience to climate change and promote IP rights and sustainable development practices in ancestral domains.

"As a small donor country committed to development that...