ECOSYSTEM COALITION. The Governance and Leadership Institute of Xavier Ateneo serves as the facilitator at the planning workshop of the Civil Society Organization (CSO) Coalition for the Ecosystem. Contributed photo.

By Wilson J Hormeguera

Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan's Governance and Leadership Institute (XU-GLI) facilitated the planning workshop of the Civil Society Organization (CSO) Coalition for the Ecosystem from October 16 to 18 at the Forest Park Dahilayan, Manolo Fortich in Bukidnon.

The CSO Coalition is a network of civil society organizations geographically engaged towards environmental protection and sustainability, especially for the Cagayan de Oro and Tagoloan Riverbasins and the Macajalar Bay.

As an output of the said workshop, the participating CSO representatives envisioned a leading coalition of policy advocacy for a healthy and sustainable landscape. 

This can be achieved through policy dialogue, lobbying, networking, partnerships, institutional and capacity development, research, sustainable livelihood, and technical assistance.

Part of the planning workshop included the proposing of structures and systems of the coalition, its decisionmaking process, its name, and symbolic identity.

The initiative of establishing a CSO Coalition for the Ecosystem is part of the Sustainable and Healthy Integrated Ecosystem through Lobbying and Advocacy (SHIELD) project of the Samdhana Institute.∎