WV Regional Planning summit set
National and local government executives as well as top national and local government planners are set to chart of the course of both the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras and the Western Visayas regions amid repeated disasters that devastated them.
That important task will take place on March 26, 2009 during the Western Visayas Regional Planning Summit 2009 that is being jointly organized by the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC), the Department of Interior and Local Government (NEDA) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
Under the theme “Weathering Uncertainties: Building a Resilient Region,” the summit was called following destructive disasters that hit the region, specifically the flood wrought by Typhoon Frank in June 2008 and the MV Solar 1 oil spill tragedy in August 2006.
The summit aims to identify and arrive at consensus on the bioregional challenges of the MIG and Western Visayas regions, share experiences in addressing sustainability and governance issues and foster discussion on emerging creative trends in regional planning such as disaster risk management and climate change.
It also seeks to identify priority policy issues, areas of collaboration and partnership among business sector, academe, international donor agencies, organizations, national government and non-government organizations in addressing issues of sustainable development.
“Despite the economic growth experienced by local governments and communities during these years, these gains have been washed away by flood and rains,” says a joint declaration calling for the summit that was signed by Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas who is also MIGEDC chair, DILG director Evelyn Trompeta and NEDA director Ro-Ann Bacal.
“These calamities made regional and local leaders realize that the global issues of climate change, the imminent rise in sea levels and the occurrence of natural and man-made disasters have placed a lot of challenges to regional and local development,” the declaration adds.
The call for resiliency, according to the declaration, post a big challenge to local and national governance to a country that needs to wrestle with issues of poverty, unmanaged population growth poor environmental management, inequitable resource management, unfavorable global challenges.
The summit will be held at the Iloilo Grand Hotel in Iloilo City. More information on the summit can be obtained from its website at www.iloiloguimarassumit.com.
“Environmental degradation, resource depletion and environmentally-destructive human activities are among the identified major problems in the region and their underlying causes related to economic and governance issues,” it says.
“The region’s future livability depends upon developing a more sustainable approach to ensuring environmental quality, creating social well-being and achieving enduring economic prosperity. The responsibility for shaping a sustainable future is widely spread among governments, business, social and community organizations, and the public. While some actions will be the responsibility of the government, achieving regional sustainability will require a collective regional effort,” it adds.
Other organizing partners in the summit include the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the University of the Philippines in the Visayas, the Central Philippine University, the Canadian Urban Institute and the Canadian International Development Agency.