[About 400 participants from 29 countries converge at the 8th Ecosystem Services Partnership World Conference in Spier, Stellenbosch, South Africa to build linkages and share lessons in ecological conservation and management. Supplied photo.]
By Analyn B Mejares
The Valuing Ecosystem Services Together (VEST) of Xavier University, in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature - The Netherlands (IUCN-NL), shared the challenges, lessons and milestones of the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) project in Mt Kalatungan at the 8th Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) World Conference in Spier, Stellenbosch, South Africa on November 9-13.
XU vice-president for Research and Social Outreach Dr Hilly Ann Roa-Quiaoit presented the VEST experience as one of the panelists of the ninth session which centered on finding strong and useful arguments, and building bridges between research, politics and practice.
In a parallel session on co-investment approaches at the landscape scale, Analyn B Mejares, VEST technical officer, presented VEST as a Disaster Risk Reduction – Climate Change Adaptation (DRR-CCA) and multisectoral rewarding mechanism.
The participants of both sessions lauded VEST for its ridge-to-reef landscape approach in watershed management, engagement with multisectoral stakeholders, sector-targeted social marketing and student volunteerism. Other participants of the international confab took note of the PES-VEST Operational Framework which is different from the usual PES framework, having added a fund manager and a monitoring and evaluation body in its system.
About 400 participants from 29 countries attended the international confab this year.
[XU's VP for Research and Social Outreach Dr Hilly Ann Roa-Quiaoit presents the VEST experience as one of the panelists during the session which centered on finding strong and useful arguments, and building bridges between research, politics and practice. Supplied photo.]
Established in 2008, ESP is a worldwide network that aims to enhance the science and practical application of ecosystem services. To facilitate the needed dialogue among scientists, policymakers and practitioners, academic institutions, global and community leaders and advocates, ESP organizes an annual international conference in different parts of the world.
This year’s theme “Ecosystem Services for Nature, People and Prosperity” placed the spotlight on public and private sector dialogue on how the ecosystem services concept can be used to support conservation, improve livelihoods and engage the business community.
The rehabilitation project in Mt Kalatungan, Talakag, Bukidnon, built on research and community collaborations, has introduced to Northern Mindanao a “rewarding mechanism” where there exists “the seller” who protects and provides ecosystem services to “the buyer” who benefits from these intangible products.
The Miarayon–Lapok–Lirongan–Tinaytayan Tribal Association (MILALITTRA) serves as the seller in this project while different sectors — businesses, cooperatives, academic institutions, religious organizations and households in Cagayan de Oro City— are the buyers of the various ecosystem services, such as ensuring the streamlines along the region to develop high water infiltration capacity and providing continuous supply of potable water, clean air and food, among others.
Xavier Science Foundation acts as the fund manager of the PES project in Mt Kalatungan. The accumulated fund will be used to realize the 5-year development masterplan of MILALITTRA in the areas of environmental protection, cultural preservation, youth development, and education and health services, among other aspects. Their Community Development Plan (CDP) targets to reforest 832 hectares and utilize 816 hectares for agroforestry within their ancestral domain. (with reports by Stephen J Pedroza)
[VEST technical officer Analyn B Mejares discusses on VEST as a Disaster Risk Reduction – Climate Change Adaptation (DRR-CCA) and multisectoral rewarding mechanism at the international confab. Supplied photo.]