Both environment and social welfare departments aim to replicate soon the cooperation program designed to promote human, ecological and economic security in marginalized areas nationwide.
The program implements sustainable disaster prevention or risk reduction livelihood projects in areas covered by government’s National Greening Program (NGP) which targets reforesting some 1.5 million hectares of open, denuded and degraded land nationwide.
”Planning will begin this November for the program’s nationwide roll-out,” said NGP information officer Tess Aquino.
She noted that preparations for the roll-out are due as the two agencies will conclude this month the program’s six-month piloting in Region 2.
Piloting the cooperation program before replicating this is required under the memorandum of agreement Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon Soliman signed in May this year.
The agreement also provides that sustainable and job-generating livelihood project models’ development be implemented through DSWD’s cash or food-for-training program.
Under the agreement, the DENR is duty-bound to provide technical assistance for the cooperation program.
DENR is also responsible for designing project models that are aligned with NGP principles and government’s convergence strategy.
NGP areas include forestland, mangroves, protected areas, ancestral domain, civil and military reservations as well as urban locations.
DSWD’s task under the agreement is to provide assistance on livelihood capital and/or cash-or food-for-training.
The agency must also ensure all CCT-eligible households in the project sites are enrolled in the Pantawid program.
Aquino noted that convergence on the cooperation program allows DENR and DSWD to pool respective capabilities and resources for these agencies’ ecosystems approach to sustainable environmental protection and poverty alleviation.
”Helping address poverty is also among NGP’s goals,” she said.
The government allows agro-forestry under NGP so uplanders concerned can raise agricultural produce for personal consumption and sale.
NGP aims helping address poverty as data indicate that farmers and fisherfolk are among the nation’s impoverished.
National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) reported poverty incidence among farmers nationwide hardly changed from 37 percent in 2003 to 36.7 percent in 2009.
It also reported that poverty incidence among the country’s fisherfolk worsened from 35 percent to 41.4 percent during the period.
Identified target beneficiaries for the cooperation program are DSWD’s disadvantaged clients and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program recipients.
Pantawid is also known as government’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program.
Through CCT, government extends financial assistance tomarginalized families provided these comply with requirements.
The agreement also noted that DENR-DSWD cooperation program’s beneficiaries include uplanders whose livelihood activities were adversely affected by government’s logging ban.
Executive Order 23 series of 2011 declared a moratorium on cutting and harvesting timber in natural and residual forests nationwide.
Such forests are those composed of indigenous trees not planted by man.
The agreement further provides that DSWD must assess non-Pantawid beneficiaries in the identified project sites for eligibility to be covered by the CCT program.
To help authorities concerned come up with effective sustainable livelihood and environment plans for replication, the agreement requires documentation of lessons learned from the piloting activity.
Such lessons will serve as basis for developing customized plans for replication.
”The plans will be site-specific and needs-based,” Aquino said.
The DSWD earlier reported the CCT program already covered as of July 2012 some three million households in 1,400 cities and municipalities across 79 provinces nationwide. [PNA]
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