NATURE-BASED Solutions (NbS), which protect the environment, restore ecosystems and address societal challenges like climate change and the need for livelihood, are not new to the Philippines. Many communities have been doing them for years, if not decades. However, on June 30, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) launched the first national-level NbS policy, mandating the integration of NbS approaches in the national agenda, in the forum “Usbong: Transdisciplinary Forum on Nature-based Solutions.”In his keynote video speech, Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the policy, which is based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Global Standard, “gives us a national standard for recognizing, supporting and scaling nature-based approaches across our climate, biodiversity and disaster risk reduction programs.” The DENR also unveiled the NbS Catalogue, a reference guide for NbS solutions, while founding members of the NbS Support Network signed a memorandum of understanding for guidance for action from the national to grassroots levels.
According to Forest Foundation Philippines Deputy Executive Director Alaya de Leon, the policy ensures that certain communities’ age-old practices, now framed as NbS, are “people-centered, integrate gender equality, disability and social inclusion; and respond to capacity-building needs at the local level.” She pointed out. “For generations, Filipino communities and Indigenous peoples have managed forests, restored coastlines and stewarded the land before it was called NbS.”
UP Los Baños Forestry Development Center Director Dixon Gevaña defined one challenge: “not simply adopting NbS, but strengthening, connecting and integrating local and Indigenous practices that already exist across policy, governance, financing and implementation systems.”
A couple of successful NbS-driven projects were showcased during the meeting. The first has to do with the Gawahon Eco-Park, the home of the endemic Southern Indigo-banded kingfisher. Birders from all over the world visit the park in Victorias, Negros Occidental, to observe the bird in its natural habitat, the clear forest streams and waterfalls that flow through one of the area’s remaining forest patches. But the kingfisher, along with many other species that depend on these forests and freshwater ecosystems, faces increasing threats from habitat loss and climate change.
To help protect Gawahon’s forests, community members, especially women, are adopting NbS to restore the ecosystems while creating sustainable livelihoods. The Gawahon Livelihood on Apiculture Development Association (BeeGLAD) started a sustainable honey enterprise producing bottled honey and honey-based products such as beeswax, honey balm and soap. Sustainable honey production, through the use of regenerative apiculture and ethical harvesting techniques, can help mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss.
According to BeeGLAD Chairman Lourdes Pedoy, Gawahon’s wild honey collectors employ sustainable methods of harvesting honey from the forests, no longer using destructive methods such as the burning of hives. BeeGLAD’s women members, who once just processed the honey, have expanded their skills to include stingless beekeeping, biodiversity monitoring and organizational management.
Women empowerment
Sustainable honey is not yet the Gawahon women’s primary source of income, Pedoy admitted, but she is confident in its potential to provide even greater financial benefits for the community. She stressed that the project is a great boon to women’s empowerment. She said, “Malaking bahagi na po ang mga kababaihan sa beekeeping and harvesting po, specifically sa stingless beekeeping.”
In the coastal barangay of Mambayaan in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental, community members have also adopted the NbS approach through the restoration of sea grass meadows while engaging in sustainable sea cucumber farming.
The C-Grass (Creating Gender-Inclusive Resilience Actions for Seagrass Sustainability) project, said Jose Romeo Ebron, CEO of Philippine Family Farmers’ Agriculture Fishery Forestry Cooperatives Federation (AgriCOOPh Federation), recognizes the important role of fisherfolk, especially women’s organizations, in coastal protection and marine biodiversity.
C-Grass, which is run by the AgriCOOPH Federation, is encouraging increased participation of women in all aspects of the project implementation. While realizing gains such as the establishment of a floating nursery, capacity-building activities and the approval of a marine reserve and protection zone, the project is challenged by frequent typhoons and limited infrastructure support.
“By engaging in sea cucumber farming, the women are helping nurture seagrass meadows which help in coastal protection and serve as nurseries for fish,” C-Grass Project Lead Lourdes Diocson said.
“Seagrass meadows, which are very important for the sustainability of our small-scale fisher folks, are one of the most important habitats of fish and marine life, enriching our fishing grounds,” she added. “As rooted submerged marine flora, they buffer the shore from strong storm effects and help in preventing erosion. Sea cucumbers help in providing nutrients to the sea sediments.”
The initiatives in Gawahon and Mambayaan are among the community-led NbS projects supported through grants from the Forest Foundation Philippines in partnership with the Philippines-Canada Partnership on Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation. The Canadian government funds them.
