Masungi advocate named ‘Young Global Leader’
Ann Dumaliang, co-founder of Masungi Georeserve Foundation Inc. (MGFI), has been selected by the World Economic Forum as part of its Young Global Leaders (YGL) Class of 2025.
She is the only Filipino to make it to this year’s cohort of “exceptional leaders under the age of 40 who are redefining leadership in a changing world.”
Only high-ranking officials and those who are nationally or internationally acclaimed individuals from the corporate world, startups, public and civil sectors, social enterprises, the academe, arts, sports and culture, and the media are accepted by the Forum of YGLs. Roughly 100 are inducted into the YGL each year through a highly competitive selection process, with nominations only open to current members and partners.
According to the YGL website, the initiative aims to bring together a community of individuals to cultivate “the next generation of strategic minds—those ready to lead with integrity, curiosity and bold vision.”
The new members will undergo a five-year program aimed at providing “platforms for collaboration, strategic learning and global influence—strengthening their ability to drive solutions for the world’s most urgent challenges,” explains a statement from MGFI.
Filipino inductees in the past three years include Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala of ACMobility, Isabelle Gotianun Yap of East West Banking Corp., journalist Natashya Gutierrez, Clarissa Delgado of nonprofit Teach For the Philippines and Paul Rivera of Kalibrr.
Opportunities
In an interview with the Inquirer, Dumaliang says that the recognition opens up opportunities to engage with “change makers and doers” on an international scale.
“The YGL community, as a broader network … gives us an opportunity to engage a more diverse group of stakeholders internationally, which will, of course, be important in growing the resilience that the model requires and, later on, being able to scale the project,” she says.
While at the core of their work in Masungi are conservation and restoration, Dumaliang says that it also involves a multifaceted approach and coordination with diverse stakeholders.
“To make it work, there are so many levers that actually have to work, from governance to sustainable development through all kinds of considerations and education and health. You make sure that the quality of life is good for the communities and the groups that you are serving,” she explains.
Dumaliang says the recognition can boost networking opportunities and other tools that the Masungi team can harness in its continuing efforts.
“Being exposed to this group of people who’ve led and done amazing, extraordinary things gives us access to the best in class, not just in conservation, but across so many different areas,” Dumaliang adds.
Decades of conservation work
MGFI was established in 2015 to expand conservation efforts in the 2,700-hectare area in Baras, Rizal, but the Dumaliangs have been involved with Masungi, with their father Ben and Blue Star Construction Development Corp., since the late 1990s.
“It’s wonderful that this award, to one extent, affirms that and also highlights, I guess, the intergenerationality of the effort. It all comes to how long it’s been at work and how long it’s been quietly pursued before it became known to the public,” Dumaliang explains.
MGFI’s efforts, through geotourism and the geopark model, aims to help in the conservation and sustainable development in the area and surrounding communities.
Along with her sister and co-founder Billie, Ann has been previously recognized for her work at Masungi. She was named as ‘National Geographic Explorer’ in 2015, receiving grants from the National Geographic Society for efforts on documenting the biogeographic heritage of Masungi.
Other honors include being named as finalist for ‘Young Champions of the Earth’ by the United Nations Environment Programme. She has likewise been named as an Ashoka Fellow.
The recognition comes after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) canceled an agreement with Blue Star on March 7.
The cancellation, according to the DENR, was due to “legal infirmities” of its supplemental agreement to its joint venture with Blue Star concerning a planned sustainable housing project.
Invigorated
Dumaliang says that she is invigorated by the recognition, considering everything that’s been happening in Masungi in the past month.
“It’s an affirmation, essentially … that these are solutions that we need to give voice to and are relevant, not just in the Philippines, but as this award affirms, at a scale that is global,” she says.
“It is a huge affirmation in the face of everything we’re going through, to be put in a community where you have different kinds [of individuals] celebrated and are recognized visionaries. [It] affirms and makes us understand that we are on the right track, at achieving something big and something transformational.”
When asked about their future plans for Masungi, Dumaliang says that they intend to hold their ground. “We will resist efforts to dismantle proven mechanisms and models—ones that have already succeeded in overcoming systemic barriers to conservation.”
At the same time, they also recognize and value their partners in government throughout the years, hailing public-private collaboration as an essential tool in addressing climate and biodiversity crises.
“The Masungi experience is living proof of what is possible when [the] government and citizens work together with courage, creativity and commitment,” adds Dumaliang.
