Who is in the Provincial Technical Working Group

The Provincial Technical Working Group was set up by ESSC in Agusan del Sur to facilitate provincial planning and management of Agusan’s natural resources. It is made up of the following agencies and organisations: Provincial Governor’s Office, Provincial Planning and Development Office, Provincial Environment and National Resources Office (for local government), Provincial Council, Department of Natural Resources, National commission of Indigenous Peoples, Department of Agrarian Reform, Philippine Army (402 nd Brigade), Agusan Del Sur Network, Diocese of Butuan and Environmental Science for Social Change.

Purpose of the Group

A convergence of stakeholders from different government agencies occurred in response to the increasing poverty in Agusan del Sur. Poverty was seen to be linked to people lack of empowerment in managing their local resources.

The group was set up as part of a long term commitment to Agusan del Sur
       To assist the Provincial Government to write an environmental code, and
       To build Provincial Government staff capacity on integrated development planning.

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Approach of the Group

A 14 point agenda of resource use concerns was drawn up by a series of discussions with local people and officials. This agenda was taken up by the working group as a mechanism to develop an environmental code that will integrate environment and natural resource concern into government policy implementation.











The 14 point agenda is the following:

1. Barangay (village) Service Centre Delineation
2. Barangays and Human Poverty Index identification
3. Conflict Management Process in Certificate of Ancestral Domain Areas
4. Rattan Utilization and Management
5. Review of Community Based Forest Management Agreements
6. Development of Co-Management Agreements in Forestlands
7. Illegal Logging Monitoring
8. Identification of Potential for Post Harvest Facilities
9. Assessment of Small Scale Tree Farmers
10. Timber Corridor Identification and Analysis: Shannalyne Concessions
11. Peace and Order Monitoring: Forest related violence
12. Management of Secondary Forest
13. Declared Watershed Management: Andanan and Wawa
14. Management of Agusan Marsh

By addressing this 14 point agenda the group will build linkages and trust among the stakeholders and will result in an Environmental code that is a “living document”. Participation of selected individuals ensures that the formulation of the environmental code subscribes to legal requirements, sustainable development principles and environmental and social impact assessments and methodologies.

The draft Environmental Code is being prepared for approval by the Task Force. The effort subscribes to general principles that recognise and creatively draw out the uniqueness of the province’s experience and its people’s struggles in achieving a critical balance between environmental and natural resource sustainability and the economic and social development that must occur in one of the poorest provinces.


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