DENR, GIZ, Davao Oriental team up to safeguard forests, IP rights

MOA with the Province of Davao Oriental to reinforce Philippines-Germany relations

In line with the recent celebrations of the Philippines’ and Germany’s 60 years of diplomatic relations, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Forest Management Bureau (DENR-FMB) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH will enter into a partnership with the Provincial Government of Davao Oriental and Municipal Governments of Caraga, Manay and Tarragona in the implementation of the National REDD-plus (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) Philippines Project on November 7, 2014 at the La-ne’s Hotel, Mati City, Davao Oriental.

Davao Oriental is the second site identified by the DENR for REDD-plus activities such as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity conservation and other co-benefits including provision of livelihoods and safeguarding indigenous peoples’ (IPs) rights. These activities are embedded in the project through the establishment and use of a national framework based on internationally recognized ecological, social and governance safeguards, a main topic in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) REDD-plus negotiations and the core of the Philippine National REDD-plus Strategy (PNRPS).

The MOA aims to strengthen the coordination of the national and local government units on forest protection and sustainable forest management by, among others, reducing shifting cultivation and timber poaching, in support of the National Greening Program.

Davao Oriental is also home to our indigenous peoples, and the cooperation among these stakeholders will ensure that rights and interests of IPs and forest-dependent communities are enforced and addressed, at the same time improving their livelihood and preserving their possession and ownership over ancestral domains and their rights to use them.

The project launching and MOA signing event will be attended by For. Mayumi Ma. Quintos- Natividad, Assistant Director of the DENR-FMB; Dr. Bernd-Markus Liss, Principal Advisor of GIZ; Hon. Corazon Malanyaon, Governor of the Province of Davao Oriental; Hon. Alicia Mori, Mayor of Caraga; Hon. Jon Marco Dayanghirang, Mayor of Manay; Hon. Nestor Uy, Mayor of Tarragona; Dir. Joselin Marcus Fragada; Regional Director of DENR Region XI; For. Mark de

Claro, REDD-plus Unit Coordinator of DENR-FMB; Hon. Charlie Ambasan, Provincial IP Mandatory Representative; and representatives of national and local government units, IP communities and civil society.

The project also supports the Philippine delegation for the UNFCCC Conference of Parties-20 on December 2014 in Peru, where climate change mitigation efforts, including REDD-plus, will be highlighted. The international community also recognizes that “forests play an important role in mitigating climate change, protecting biodiversity and supporting the lives and livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local communities.” (Component 4 Forest land use planning & REDD+
implementation – Dvo.Or.)