Bataan, a pilot province for green growth planning initiatives

BALANGA CITY, Bataan – Cognizant of the threat that environmental challenges pose to the attainment of its vision, which is sustainable development, the Provincial Government of Bataan through the Provincial Government-Environment and Natural Resources Office (PG-ENRO), and the National Economic Development (NEDA) collaborated with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) conducted a 3-day training focused on “Setting the Stage for Mainstreaming Green Growth in Development Planning (Module I) at the Bataan Library & Youth Center, last January 29-31, 2018, this city.

The GGGI is a treaty-based international organization based in Seoul, Korea that aims to promote green growth paradigm characterized by a balance of economic growth and environmental sustainability. As such it simultaneously addresses poverty reduction, job creation, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability; working across four priority areas considered to be essential to transforming national economies, namely: energy, water, land-use, and green cities. Envisioning a resilient world achieved through strong, inclusive, and sustainable green growth, GGGI works with developing and emerging countries to design and deliver programs to demonstrate new pathways for pro-poor, sustainable economic growth.

Finding Bataan’s vision to be aligned with its aim, NEDA and GGGI have chosen Bataan in Luzon as one of the two pilot provinces in the Philippines for green growth planning initiatives, that is focused on energy planning. The other pilot province is the Dinagat Island in Mindanao.

Attended by representatives from the NEDA Central Office, NEDA Regional Office, local government units (LGUs), different departments of the provincial government of Bataan and other stakeholders, the training yielded significant results such as the existence of a number of government initiatives in development planning, yet there is still a need to strengthen the institutional technical capacity of LGUs in integrating inclusive growth and climate change-related measures in local development planning. Green Growth development planning is the model that integrates, balances, and sustains economic growth, climatic/environmental sustainability and social inclusion. It will focus on addressing the root cause, reducing the risk and transforming economic values.

The training is composed of six (6) modules. This being the first, Module 2 will be on Feb. 26-28, 2018.