DENR forum tackles the complexity of development

By Jennifer P. Rendon

How does a country, or a region for that matter, balance environmental sustainability and resiliency vis-a-vis development?

In a bid to address the intricacies of development, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is holding public engagements to ensure that its plans, programs, and policies are inclusive, evidence-informed, and done in consultation with its diverse stakeholders.

The agency convened more than 200 industry and sector leaders in the Visayas in a two-day forum in Iloilo City on Jan. 18-19, 2023 to generate recommendations as it refines its Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) Framework.

Held at the Grand Xing Imperial Hotel in Iloilo City, the Visayas leg of the forum is a continuation of the Luzon Multistakeholder Forum last Oct 5-7, 2022, that also saw the attendance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and over 300 stakeholders from government, private sector, civil society, academic and scientific institutions, and the Philippines’ international development partners.

DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga said the forum aims to produce evidence-informed actions for the protection, conservation, enhancement, and regeneration of the Philippines’ ecosystems.

Over the course of the two-day Visayas forum, experts and decision-makers from all sectors are expected to share knowledge, expertise, innovations, and best practices unique to the Visayas region to serve as inputs to the DENR’s ENR Framework for Multistakeholder Engagement.

“The multi-stakeholder forum is a way for us to address the complexity of the challenges of development.  And this complexity has a different profile given the different regions of the country. It’s really the intersections of physical, geography and sociology-economic of the regions that determine that complexities and the only way to capture that is to bring together different stakeholders across the different sectors,” she said.

Loyzaga pointed out that they veered along the lines of the whole of society, not just the whole of government approach towards the delivery of the mandate of the DENR.

Loyzaga assured of the agency’s continued commitment to addressing environmental challenges through partnership, consultation, and collaboration.

“Our close collaboration and partnership can yield the most significant results. This synergy will generate new capacities for everyone to protect, restore, and enhance our rich but threatened ecosystems,” Loyzaga said.

The DENR, under Loyzaga’s leadership, has championed whole-of-society and transdisciplinary approaches toward evidence-informed policy and action for the protection, preservation, conservation enhancement, and regeneration of the country’s ecosystems.

The forum is also an avenue for the different stakeholders to foster and strengthen its partnership with the DENR, and to work together in crafting and implementing policies and programs toward climate and disaster resilience and sustainable development.

Meanwhile, Atty. Jonas R. Leones, DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning, and International Affairs, presented the agency’s developing ENR Framework for Multistakeholder Engagement, highlighting (1) the national government’s commitment to providing livelihood opportunities to communities while improving the capacity of ecosystems to withstand the climate crisis; (2) how businesses can act as collaborators in decarbonized and regenerative activities rather than contributors to greenhouse gas emissions; (3) the importance of considering, including and giving a platform to communities that are vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis; (4) and how the DENR should act as a central hub for data to efficiently quantify the risks of the climate crisis and the value of recommended actions.

The Framework will serve as the foundation for science-based, data-driven, and socially, politically, and culturally-sensitive decision-making. To achieve this, Loyzaga emphasized that the DENR will continue to dynamically integrate scientific, technological, and traditional knowledge, expertise, and innovation into the agency’s strategies, policies, and processes.

“With everyone’s support and collaboration, together we will be able to craft adaptive, inclusive, and sustainable development pathways built on strategic partnerships and sound science,” Loyzaga said.