Pathways for Partnership Eyed
in Mindanao’s BD, Devt Corridors
DAVAO CITY, 27 March 2023 — The DENR-UNDP/GEF Biodiversity Corridor Project and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) discussed pathways for collaboration on ecotourism and biodiversity conservation, primarily in the northeastern and eastern portions of Mindanao.
Through the BD Corridor Project’s Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor (EMBC) and MinDA’s Northern Mindanao Development Corridor (NMDC) under one of its four-pronged Mindanao Development Corridors (MDC), the stakeholders identified potential points of collaboration and partnership, as well as discussed enhancement of sustainable ecotourism activities in Eastern Mindanao, during a meeting on March 23 at the MinDA office in Davao City.
Dr. Mary Jean Caleda, BD Corridor National Project Manager, highlighted national policy instruments to improve biodiversity outcomes within the corridors, including mainstream conservation measures into local government policies as well as planning and monitoring systems, and recognizing a network of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), including conservation areas managed by indigenous and other local communities.
Joan Barrera, Director of MinDA’s Program Planning and Policy Development Office (PPPDO), said the development corridors concept for Mindanao optimizes the growth of regions based on their potentials and strategic roles in the overall development of the Philippines’ southern island. MDC builds on trade and economic strength between and among regions through better infrastructure, connectivity, logistics, industry development and investment facilitation.
MinDA said the MDC aims to improve transport and logistics to support the development of tourism, industry and agriculture, and to provide a platform for coordinated, integrated, and harmonized implementation of strategic programs and projects for the development corridor.
MDC also aims to reinforce Mindanao’s enabling business environment for sustained trade primarily for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines–East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
Clusters for BD, Ecotourism
Based on the MDC concept, Mindanao is divided into four (4) development corridors — Northern Mindanao, South-Central Mindanao, Western Mindanao, and the Bangsamoro Mindanao area — and five (5) industrial clusters that have complementary roles and competitive advantages.
More specifically, the Eastern Mindanao BD Corridor is also MDC’s Biodiversity and Ecotourism Cluster (BETC). According to MinDA, the characteristics of BETC include a diverse ecosystem with rainforests, cave formations, rivers, pristine shorelines, and critical habitats of endemic flora and fauna.
The potential partners discussed how the BD Corridor Project can take on development challenges and opportunities, such as addressing land and forest degradation, piloting the local version of the international voluntary forest certification system, and supporting biodiversity-friendly livelihood and business enterprises.
Regarding the ecotourism loop concept through the Go Mindanao program, which aims to provide tourism buses serving passengers all over Philippine southern island, they also discussed points of collaboration, specifically on how to incorporate the ecotourism loop or circuit in their respective corridor clusters.
Moreover, they talked about collaborating to enhance the proposed BD Corridor Information System, which aims to document and catalog lessons learned, good practices, innovations and success stories from the overall Project implementation, as well as harmonizing their respective corridor information management systems. (EMBC/Carl Van Lucero/MRConfesor)