Indigenous Aeta guides on the slopes of Mt Pinatubo, Philippines.

Caption: Indigenous Aeta guides on the slopes of Mt Pinatubo. This active volcano holds considerable ecotourism potential.

Note: Click for enlargement of map.

Philippines

2008/2009 Allocation | $4 million

Snapshot

The Republic of the Philippines comprises over 7,000 islands which lie north of Indonesia and south of Taiwan. The country is divided into three main island groups: Luzon in the north, the Visayas in the centre, and Mindanao in the south.

The Philippines is home to more than 85 million people who speak nearly 100 different ethnic languages and dialects. Around 30 percent of the population lives in poverty, particularly those in rural areas and in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao. There are also pockets of severe poverty in the comparatively well-off greater Manila urban area.

NZAID priorities

In October 2003 NZAID and the Philippines agreed on a new five-year strategy concentrating on three key themes:

Natural resource management
Indigenous people
Governance.

Cross-cutting initiatives that support the above themes include human resource development (for instance training) and conflict resolution and peace building initiatives.

The strategy is to be reviewed during the 2007/08 financial year.

NZAID on the ground

Natural resource management

Since 2001, NZAID has been supporting the development of ecotourism in the Philippines through the Philippine National Ecotourism Programme or PNEP. The initial phase of PNEP involved the preparation of a National Ecotourism Strategy, which seeks to encourage and support sustainable ecotourism ventures that will benefit local communities, and the pilot delivery of technical assistance to key ecotourism banner sites. Now in its second phase, PNEP aims to mainstream ecotourism in four protected areas. The programme is working in these sites to develop community-based natural resource management as a means to improve livelihoods and manage natural and cultural resources in a sustainable manner. NZAID's partners in the implementation of PNEP are the Philippines Departments of Tourism and Environment.

NZAID and the Philippine Department of Environment will commence implementation of the Camiguin Coastal Resources Management Programme in mid-2007. This programme aims to address the complex issue of how to manage coastal resources in a sustainable manner while stimulating economic activity. Camiguin is located in Mindanao and is one of the Philippines' poorest provinces.

Indigenous people

NZAID supports a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) led initiative to improve basic education, health and nutrition outcomes for the mainly indigenous people of Mountain Province in northern Luzon.

A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) led initiative, supported by NZAID, assists indigenous communities that have secured ancestral land rights to formulate and implement their ancestral domain sustainable development and protection plans.

Governance

NZAID is supporting the strengthening of the capabilities of local government unit (LGU) staff in programme and project development and management under the Local Government Unit Management Training Programme, or LGUMTP, located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. Caraga is the country's poorest region. Project planning staff from twenty eight Caraga LGUs have already benefited from this unique training programme which was developed using internationally recognised competency standards in project management. Support to build capabilities of local training institutions to enable them to provide sound technical and management training to LGUs is also being provided under the LGUMTP.

NZAID funding was recently approved for UNDP sponsored research and policy work on institutions, politics and human development in the Philippines.

Conflict resolution and peace building

Due to the legacy of conflict in the region, the people of Mindanao are among the most disadvantaged people in the Philippines. In 2004, NZAID began contributing to a World Bank-managed Multi-donor Trust Fund for reconstruction and development of conflict-affected parts of Mindanao. Substantial support continues to be provided to a UNDP coordinated "Action for Conflict Transformation" (ACT) for Peace Programme. ACT is the successor phase of the Philippine-UN Multi-Donor Programme (MDP) for Peace and Development in Mindanao of which NZAID was a consistent supporter. Aside from building on MDP successes, ACT also aims to prevent the emergence of potential conflicts. Some of the NZAID funding is targeted to the "at risk" Caraga region.

Human resource development

New Zealand Development Scholarships or NZDS (study awards for postgraduate courses in New Zealand) is currently the single largest component of NZAID’s Human Resource Development Programme in the Philippines. Twelve scholarships were awarded to deserving Filipinos this year. A tracer study to help ascertain the impact of New Zealand’s and the Philippines’ investment in postgraduate education will be completed in June 2007. The results are expected to help chart the future direction of NZAID’s Philippine human resource development programme. Support for the participation of two senior Philippine Government officials in the Commonwealth Advanced Seminar in February 2007 was also provided under this programme.

Small Grant Programme

NZAID has recently entered into a cost-sharing arrangement with the Philippine UNDP-Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme or UNDP GEF SGP. This programme contributes to the country strategy thematic objectives of improving natural resource management and facilitating indigenous peoples’ development. It also aligns fully with the core focus upon sustainable rural livelihoods in NZAID’s broader Asia strategy.

Emergency Assistance

In the wake of a series of strong typhoons that hit the country in late 2006, New Zealand provided assistance for affected communities through the Philippine National Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. NZAID funds are being used not only for disaster relief operations but also to help strengthen capacities of local institutions involved in this type of work.