Mindanao talks of efforts and initiatives to attain SDGs
Mindanao sustainability requires the collective and united efforts of all stakeholders, staying true to the aspiration and vision: “A Land for all, today and tomorrow”, regardless of cultural and socioeconomic background where no one is deprived. To attain this, knowledge and responsible governance will be imperative.
With this, the National Research Council of the Philippines of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-NRCP), together with the DOST Mindanao Regional Offices (IX, X, XI, XII, CARAGA, and BARMM), held the two-day virtual Mindanao Regional Future Earth Philippines Community Mobilization Workshop on 26 and 28 April 2021.
The virtual gathering was aimed at stimulating discussions and planning towards a logical framework for the Future Earth Philippines Program. The Future Earth Philippines (FEP), a program led by National Scientist Lourdes Cruz, is inclusive and transdisciplinary that seeks to improve the country’s capacity to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Knowledge-to-Action Programs.
With the theme, “Synergizing Knowledge and Governance for Sustainable Development in Mindanao in the Age of Disruptions”, the FEP Mindanao workshop highlighted the discussion on various topics such as biodiversity status, sustainable resource utilization, indigenous peoples (IPs) rights, the role of inclusive governance, local sustainability initiatives, and renewable energy production.
Mindanao's very own leaders, researchers, and advocates, including Senator Aquilino Martin “Koko” Pimentel III, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Manny Piñol, Governing Council of Lumad Mindanao People's Federation Chairperson TimuayJimidMansayagan, DOST-XI Regional Director Dr. Anthony Sales, DOST-NRCP members Dr. Sukarno Tanggol, Dr. MayongAguja, and Acd. Victor Amoroso, Vice Mayor (Del Carmen, Siargao) Alfredo Coro, and Mindanao Renewable Energy R&D Center Head Dr. Randell Espina set the context for the workshop through their significant inputs.
More than 80participants from the academe, Local Government Units (LGUs), non-government organizations, indigenous peoples (IPs) representatives, and other sectors attended the said activity.
The DOST-NRCP said that the workshops were intended to guide the participants, particularly the LGUs, in identifying sustainability issues and subsequently, craft relevant solutions through researches and action plans aligned with the COVID-19 recovery program of the national government.
“FEP recognizes the need to localize approaches and strategies towards improving the country’s sustainability and resilience, thus, the conduct of various seminar-workshops in the regional level,” DOST-NRCP said in a statement.
Since 2018, FEP has organized a number of series of seminar-workshops with various stakeholders to capacitate them in championing sustainability.
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