The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) gathered over 200 industry and sector leaders for a multi-stakeholder forum with the aim of producing inclusive long-term policies that address multi-sectoral challenges in environmental resilience.
This will ensure evidence-informed actions for the protection, conservation, enhancement, and regeneration of the Philippines’ ecosystems.
Over the course of three days, representatives from government, civil society, academe, and scientific institutions, private, and development sectors will explore opportunities for strategic partnerships and identify actionable recommendations for a resilient Philippines.
The inputs from the Department’s stakeholders will contribute to the Resiliency Framework for Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) – an integrated framework for multi-stakeholder strategic engagement in ENR.
Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to protecting the country’s natural resources and stressed the importance of inclusive and multidisciplinary dialogue across all sectors in making this possible.
“In order to do this, we will need to work with partners to develop integrated strategies for a science-based, risk-informed, ethical and equitable stewardship of our environments,” Loyzaga said.
“This guarantees that each sector’s unique and shared challenges, actionable recommendations, and commitments are incorporated in the process of forming the DENR’s policy agenda and multi-year Roadmap for Programs, Activities and Projects (PAP), the environment chief stated.
“It is our hope that our conversations will ensure that our people, processes and products will result in synergies that will transform our department into one that is fit for its complex purpose.”
“It is our hope that our conversations, the planned national natural resources geospatial database, a new expert advisory council, and an organizational review, will ensure that our people, processes, and products will result in synergies that will transform our department into one that is fit for its complex purpose,” the environment head added.
The DENR is committed to creating strategic partnerships and accelerating cooperation and collaboration for the country’s resilience.
In his keynote address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. commended the DENR for leading the way in conducting “discussions to include all the different stakeholders, to listen to concerns and the opportunities that our stakeholders can provide”.
He also noted that the consultations are among the first and most vital steps toward environmental resilience.
“There is no greater shared responsibility than the care for our environment.”
Marcos said that he has “always believed that there is no greater shared responsibility than the care for our environment”.
He emphasized that, collectively, “we not only have the expertise, but also the commitment and the determination to steer our practices and systems towards a greener environment.”
Emphasizing the critical importance of the country’s environment and natural resources, the President said: “I assure you that our environment and our country’s resiliency and adaptation to the new normals of climate change are on top of the national agenda.”
The Resiliency Framework for ENR to be produced at the forum will serve as the foundation for science-based, data-driven, and socially, politically and culturally-sensitive environment and natural resource policies.
