Ancestral domains formally recognized by the Philippine government make up 18.4 percent or nearly one-fifth of the entire land area of the Cordillera Administrative Region. From 2002 to 2010, a total of 20 certificates of ancestral domain title (CADT) for indigenous peoples (IPs) were awarded to indigenous peoples by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) covering a cumulative area of 336,660.06 hectares. Beneficiaries are IPs from the following ethnolinguistic groups: Ayangan, Bago, Ibaloi, Isneg, I’wak, Kankanaey, Kalanguya, Tuwali, Tingguian and others.

As per Republic Act No. 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997, ancestral domains refer to “all areas generally belonging to IPs composed of lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and natural resources held under a claim of collective or individual ownership, continuously occupied or possessed by IPs by themselves or their ancestors since time immemorial…”

Out of the total of 20 CADTs awarded in CAR, 13 titles were awarded in Benguet, 2 titles were awarded in Ifugao, while one CADT was awarded each to Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Mt.Province and the city of Baguio.

As of October 2010, Benguet has the largest CADT area at 257,550.50 hectares or 76.5 percent of all ancestral domains in the region. Ifugao is second at 47,187.53 hectares or 14.0 percent while Apayao is third at 11,268.03 hectares or 3.3 percent. Happy Hollow in Baguio City is the smallest ancestral domain in the region at 146.42 hectares or only 0.04 percent of total area awarded. Other CAR provinces each comprised less than three percentof the total. No CADTs were awarded in CAR for the years 2003 and 2007.

Benguet has the distinction of having been awarded with the very first CADT in the Philippines when CADT No. CAR-BAK-0702-001 covering a total of 29,444.34 hectares was awarded on February 2002 to the Bago and Kankanaey of Bakun, Benguet.