2. Alliances: Overview
Development Alliances
Decentralization: Creating Need for Alliance
Advantages of Alliances
Weakness of Alliances
Examples of Alliances – Cases in Philippines
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3. Development Alliances
Most desirable kind of ‘development’ as it:
Is viewed as locally designed & attainable
Responds to social concerns & social movements
Seeks full stakeholder participation & closed
resource access
Does address poverty concerns relating welfare and
livelihood
More easily incorporates concerns of local access
rights &tenure into local environmental management
Is not externally depended nor driven, no model or
program format coming from above
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4. Decentralization Creates Need for
Alliances
Decentralization
Consolidation of the democratic process by
widening its base participation & action
Moves decision-making closer to local agents and
provides a basis to recognize cultural and
ecological diversity
Local governance evokes transparency,
accountability, and participation
Growth in complexity of responsibility & response
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5. Decentralization and Forestlands
Decentralization and local governance hardest to
implement in forestlands
People are accustomed to be managed from national
center
Nationalization of forests eroded the authority of local
cultures for managing surrounding natural resources
Local management is difficult when ownership and
authority is at national level: forests vs fisheries
Multiple layers of planning needed
Human security as continuity of access & rights,
environmental stability
Importance of forest resources to community’s livelihood,
culture, and identity
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6. Local Governments:
Land Use Planning & Implementation
“Grouping” of local government unit (LGU) and local
people is an emerging strategy for dealing with the
challenges
Getting local governments to engage communities in
land use planning strengthen the resource access
rights and tenure
Development of local groups demands creativity,
responsibility, trust, and quality governance
Easier to get attention on problems & new initiatives
good or bad
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7. Why Alliances
Triggered by awareness of natural resource
degradation
Formed to respond to the geographic situation by
addressing the issues & concerns in an collective
manner
Composed of a wide membership of those who
agreed to work together - equitable but not equal
personnel from local government offices and the planning offices;
technical persons from the national line agencies (e.g. DENR)
clusters of communities and existing community organizations
civil society groups
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8. Why Alliances
Stakeholders bring different perspectives,
experience and capacity into a discussion
Natural landscape may cover more than one local
administrative unit
Can respond to broader concerns with greater
capability
Unique strategic position
Partnership and collaborative action with planning and
implementation agencies at local level lead them to better
position in both policy recommendation and decision making
Can bring information from the community level to the right
people in the management or the board.
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9. Weakness of Alliances
Difficulties in securing commitment
Lack in funding, human resources & technical
knowledge
Low level of involvement from local
government personnel due to little flexibility
Conflicting laws or differing interpretation of
issues
Need for local champion
Quandaries over legal identity and structure
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10. Cases in Philippines
Allah Valley Landscape Development Alliance (AVLDA)
A multi-stakeholder group comprised of representatives from the
Province of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, plus five
national government agencies and one NGO Coalition
Response to intensified flooding incidents resulting in greater risk
to poor communities
Objective and goal: Protection and management of the Allah
valley landscape towards the goal of improving the socio-
economic condition of the people
Multi-stakeholdership contributions
greater environmental sustainability through more comprehensive
environmental management
strengthen and sustain relationships between two regions by
focusing on real needs
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11. Cases in Philippines, cont.
Bukidnon Watershed Protection & Development
Council
One of the first province-wide initiatives for watershed
management in the country.
Created through executive decree with the objective of fully
protecting and preserving the remaining forest in the
Bukidnon watersheds and to rehabilitate open areas within
the headwaters of the watershed.
Multi-sectoral council seeking to address management and
protection needs for the watersheds in the province
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12. Who & what they are…
Area ID Focus Response
Agusan Marsh Dev Problems re River bank stability,
Alliance sustain wshed livelihood
Agusan Province Tech WG Enviro & Surface issues, basic
livelihood needs
Allah Valley Dev LGU enviro Planning, community
Landscape Alliance protection economic security
Bukidnon Watershed Dev Collaborate on Local wshed plans
Protection & Council initiatives,
human security
Carood Watershed Manag’t Sustain LGU Local planning,
Council initiative existing projects
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13. Who & what they are
Area ID Focus Response
Lake Mainit Dev Partnership for Wshed management,
Alliance manag’t projects
Lamon Bay Manag’t Improve Village ordinances,
Integrated Fisheries Council manag’t & livelihood
& Aquatic livelihood
Lanuza Bay Dev Local Village councils,
Alliance governance livelihood
Matarinao Bay Manag’t Improve Planning,
Council manag’t & rehabilitation
livelihood
Greater Dapitan- Informal Formation of Information & design
Dipolog City Area emerging Working Group
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14. Findings from Philippine Cases
Named alliances are a new development initiatives emerging
locally going beyond sector to total area management
Provincial or municipal enggement is key: Changes in leaders
often result in changes in the level of commitment and concern
for continuing the alliance
Questions of sustainability may arise around election time
Alliances often times fail to implement work programs due to
limited technical and financial resources
Communities view new ‘agency’ as another layer in the
bureaucracy, and remain apprehensive unless definite and
positive changes are demonstrated
Lack of information about the area limits but drives planning and
data management with purpose
Through the alliances they can attain easier agreement on
shared watershed problems as well as the delivery of basic
services, expected to influence management and achieve greater
human security
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