Executive Director, Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI)
Joan Carling is an indigenous activist from the Cordillera, Philippines. She studied sociology and economics at the University of the Philippines, College of Baguio (currently the University of the Philippines-Baguio). Ms. Carling has more than 20 years of working on indigenous issues from the grassroots to the international level. Her expertise includes human rights, sustainable development, the environment, and climate change. She was the General Secretary of the Asia Indigenous People Pact (AIPP) from 2008 to 2016. She was an indigenous expert member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from 2014 to 2016. Ms. Carling was awarded the Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award by UN Environment in September 2018. She is the co-founder and currently the Executive Director of the Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI).