ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
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Initiating an Education-Based Sustainable Development Framework in
Aurora Province, Philippines
Macose1, F.E., Roxas
2 S.K., Fuentes
3, R. O.,
Angara
4, E. V and Watts
5, P. D.
ABSTRACT
The initiation of a community based approach to sustainable development
that includes a focus on assessing ecosystem capacity is reported. The project
design had a focus of providing a framework for the continued expansion of the
Aurora State College of Technology Extensions Program. Preliminary results of
key hypotheses are reported to assist other Philippine institutions and possibly
those in other countries to consider similar programs for development and poverty
alleviation.
INTRODUCTION
The 21st century requires new configurations in organizations as cultural
environmental scenarios are becoming more and more different, in part due to
global challenges associated with poverty alleviation, human rights and climate
change. New situations offer new opportunities as well as new problems for
management and require new mindsets, skills and competencies. To deal with
challenges of the uncertain future there is a need to be prepared and proactive
regarding change management. Schools being the responsible agent for the
preparation of the young should engage in planned change. There is a need for
education programs and institutions to move away from simply responding or
reacting. The ability to manage change is in large dependent upon establishing the
appropriate organizational processes. Many of the most important policy issues
facing the planet today demand a central focus on the sustainability of
development. A widely-used and accepted international definition of Sustainable
Development (SD) given by Doyle (2007) and adopted by the United Nations is: a
development often called the foundation of environmental policy, with a view that
development should meet the needs of the current generation without leaving
behind a compromised or damaged environment that cannot meet the needs of
future generations. This implies both limitations imposed by the present state of
technology and social organizations on environmental resources, and the ability of
the biosphere to absorb the effects of human activities.
We suggest that SD efforts need to be directed at community level
empowerment which is in part, the process of enabling people to improve their
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own lives. For this, Bass et al. (1995) strongly recommended networking within
and between countries on implementing appropriate participation strategies.
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), is an international (sustainable) development
organization with partners in national offices in the United Kingdom, the
Netherlands, Kenya, Canada and the Philippines provides international assistance
through deployment of workers in several parts of the country, including Aurora
Province and are working towards food security and related development of
environmental management strategies. VSO promotes volunteering to fight global
poverty by bringing people together to share skills, creativity and learning to build
a fairer world as they link rural poverty to dependence upon the environment for
food (Santos & Schneider, 2001).A review of SD by a national assembly of
volunteers through Volunteer Services Overseas concluded that enhanced public
participation is critical for the Philippines (Aekester et al. 2007). Further, it is
important, if not critical that least developed countries understand and present the
integral components of their own development to stimulate synergistic
international exchange. Every unit is a subunit of a larger system and global SD
involves functional dialogue, local action and strategic collaboration. Hopefully,
an enhanced participatory approach to SD will convince local leaders in
government, civil society, and the academe to undertake new efforts which can
unite the people in the building of a new Aurora and a new Philippines; one where
human, societal and ecological development are sustained. The education
institutions hold the key to this development for future generations and the current
work is focused on the development of an SD mandate within ASCOT’s
Extension Services. The project was initiated by the first author as part of his
doctoral thesis (Macose 2008).
Situational Analysis
For the purpose of providing a focus on specific aspects of the
development challenge, we here provide a brief situational analysis of related
global, national and local contexts or perspectives. Situational analysis
corresponds to the identification of the primary problems that are the underlying
causes of the organization’s desire for change in a holistic fashion.
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
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The Realities of Global System
A primary challenge facing the world today and in the future is to meet the
needs of human food security and ensure that the natural resource base remains
productive for the future. According to Bjonnes (2003), ―the current global model
of development is unsustainable‖. This was more recently confirmed by the
United Nations Environment Program Report (Brahic, 2007) on the state of
Earth's natural resources. Brahic concluded the environment is being sucked dry
by unsustainable development. For example, areas other than the Philippines with
great biodiversity resources, such as Latin America are also suffering from
ecosystem and protected area destruction. Valente (2007) warns that the model of
economic development there is based on intensive exploitation and export of
natural resources and that the governments are nothing to halt the destruction.
There are similar examples from elsewhere in the world.
As damage to rivers and land is evident in Southern Australia, Spokesman Barry
Traill (2006) of the Northern Australia Environment Alliance is very worried
when he posed the question "When are we going to start thinking about
development for sustainable pastoralism, for tourism, for the things that really
work for the north?" Miliband, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs also made a strong signal that unless the government starts to make real
progress toward reconciling these contradictions, UK government faces a future
that is less certain and less secure (DEFRA, 2007). Another problem raised by
Steele et al (2007) is balancing both ecosystem, health, and promoting economic
growth. They reported further that the challenge of poverty alleviation, promoting
the conditions for human health, securing for rural livelihoods and conserving the
environment is particularly acute in Asia and the Pacific. However, participatory
grass roots actions are having positive effects as in the case of the international
recognition of PAMANA, the Philippine grassroots alliance of fisherfolk marine
protected area (MPA) Managers as Ecohealth Practitioners (Anabieza et al. IN
PRESS). This is a response to one of the major challenges which is to link public
participation to ecological capacity.
Ecological footprint analysis compares human demand on nature with the
biosphere's ability to regenerate resources and provide services. It does this by
assessing the biologically productive land and marine area required to produce the
resources a population consumes and absorb the corresponding waste, using the
ecological footprint concept and calculation method which was developed as the
PhD dissertation of Mathis Wackernagel, under William Rees at the University of
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British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, from 1990-1994 (Wikepedia, 2008). The
human economy now exerts a larger Footprint than the planet has biocapacity
(Wackernagel, 2007). The Earth’s biologically productive area is approximately
11.2 billion hectares or 1.8 global hectares per person in 2002 (assuming that no
capacity is set aside for wild species). However, the global Ecological Footprint in
2002 was 13.7 global hectares or 2.2 global hectares per person. Thus, in 2002,
humanity’s Ecological Footprint exceeded global biocapacity by 0.4 global
hectares per person, or 23 percent. This finding implies that the human economy
is in ecological overshoot: the planet’s natural resource capital stock is being
depleted, thus eroding future supply of natural resources and operating at risk of
environmental collapse (Wackernagel, 2007 & EEA, 2005). This is also
considered true for both the open oceans (Pauly and Alder 2005) and coastal areas
(Agardy and Alder 2005).
The ecological footprint quantifies the amount of land area that is required
to sustain the lifestyle of a population of any size—an individual, household,
community, city, country, or world. With the predicted increase in the world
population, the demand for marine resources will rise above the present supply
(Garcia and Newton 1994). Many of the important fish resources are already in a
state of full or overexploitation, and for these resources it is likely that further
increases in effort will result in stock collapses (Gislason et al. 2000). There are
several convergent approaches to determining the capacity of marine ecosystems
and planning. For example, UNESCO (2009) has taken a leadership role on
marine spatial planning with a focus on biodiversity units such as bioregions. This
approach has been linked to the use of marine ecological models such as
ECOPATH and ECOSIM (Christensen and Pauly 1995,1996). However, although
significant tools have been developed, we appear globally to live beyond our
means, in an ecological sense. In other words, we are eroding the supply of
ecological resources and services for future generations and posing the risk of
global environmental collapse. Although these consequences are made
unintentionally through human activity, we clearly must learn to better manage
our interaction within the ecological systems, particularly in the case of the
watersheds, marine and river basins, where individual approaches of protecting
the areas are unlikely to succeed on their own.
Increasingly it is perceived that these global issues cannot be addressed by
countries acting independently. Further, there is now a growing awareness that we
can no longer blindly trust in the regenerative capacity of ecosystems (Töpfer,
1998). This international perspective spawned the World Commission on
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Environment and Development (WCED, 1987) which set three general objectives
to be addressed: 1) to re-examine the critical environmental and development
issues and formulate realistic proposals for dealing with them, 2) to propose new
forms of international co-operation on these issues that will influence policies and
events in the direction of needed changes; and 3) to raise the levels of
understanding and commitment to action of individuals, voluntary organizations,
businesses, and governments. We suggest that two decades later there is still a
need to meet these goals and that the educational system is important for this
process. Further, this may be particularly true for less developed countries such as
the Philippines with limited available economic resources. The enhancement of
public participation may be a key strategy in formulation and implementation of a
social-process that helps to meet these goals and this process can best begin at the
community level and then collaborate with other communities that share the
ecosystem services. The meeting of the United Nations Commission on
Sustainable Development (1996) on Innovative Approaches Towards
Environmentally SD on June 6-7, 1996, in Quezon City, Philippines resulted in
consensus on the need to promote innovative forward-looking approaches to SD,
and the need to collaborate on enhancing the capacity of our natural resources.
Other countries are also moving in this same direction.
In China, Mao Rubai reported that more than 10 provinces and
municipalities have already promulgated local regulations on the circular
economy, which served as reference in drafting the national circular economy law
for SD (Xinhua, 2006). The core of the circular economy is to maintain
friendliness to the environment in the process of economic development by
making a full and efficient use of resources and energies and minimize waste
discharge. It features low consumption of energy, low emission of pollutants and
high efficiency, through its 3-R principle: reduce, reuse, and recycle. In England,
Ward (2002) reported that government money is being made available under the
England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) which contributes to the
delivery of the Government's Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food by
helping farmers and foresters to respond better to consumer requirements. The
ERDP provides new opportunities to protect and improve the countryside, to
develop sustainable enterprises and to help rural communities to thrive by
safeguarding and enhancing their rural environment. Likewise, the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, 2003), disclosed that the business sector
continues to be involved in a number of programs to ensure that environmental
considerations are integrated in their activities. ASEAN cited the Private Sector
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Participation in Managing the Environment (PRIME) which ensures compliance
to Environmental Management Systems.
Despite all these efforts, the global society is continuously confronted with
the question of whether SD as a concept and practice has improved the lives of
the people. Globally, the failure of the various extension delivery approaches in
developing countries to effectively engineer significant and sustainable
agricultural growth has become a major concern to all stakeholders, including the
donor community (Madukwe, 2004). While it is hard to dismantle existing
structures and patterns of behavior established for centuries, it is also hard to
operate in a context unfamiliar, with tools one is just learning to operate. Much
has been written about SD with policies already in place at local, national and
international scales, but their implementation remains elusive. According to
Roxas (2004), the implementation of the new concern for the global SD and the
covenants reached in Rio de Janeiro embodied in Agenda 21 (UNESCAP, 1992)
dictate a formidable challenge to all of us. The task right now is implementation
on how to translate the imperatives into practical action.
Dealing with the same challenge, Thaman (2002) called for the
International Association of Universities as teaching and research organizations to
recognize and act upon a more culturally inclusive interpretation of SD. Segreda
(2002)
of University of Costa Rica emphasized the University's role in defining
a national perspective on sustainability starting in 1987. Segrada added that
scientists and economists are now promoting organic agriculture because they
now come to realize that the world’s wealth still relies on nature with our natural
ecosystems providing humans with food, water, air, shelter, food, clothing and
medicines. In the current work we look at the development of an enhanced
Extensions Services role for Aurora State College of Technology and an
integration of these participatory strategies with other aspects of the institution.
The Realities of the Philippine System
There is a growing global consensus that natural resources are under threat
everywhere. In the Philippines, the link between poverty and the environment
are continually in discussion, primarily because the consequences of
environmental degradation fall heavier on the poor. Poverty at the same time
drives people into environmentally degrading economic activities for their
survival. Then Vice President Estrada said: "Our resources are limited and even
declining. Our population is increasing rapidly far beyond our capability to
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
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support and provide for the needs of our people in terms of food, shelter, social
services, and basic amenities" (Dañguilan, 2006).
The Ecological Footprint of the Philippines in year 2002 is 1.0 global
hectares per capita adding up the biologically productive land per capita in the
Philippines is only 0.6 global hectares per person (GFN, 2005). This finding
indicates that the country’s ecological stocks are being depleted faster than nature
can regenerate them by -0.4. This means that if we will not change our lifestyle
and consumer habits, we put danger to the natural systems that supports life
systems. In marine ecosystems, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF, 2004)
revealed that overfishing, destructive fishing methods, siltation and increases in
the human population have threatened the productivity of the coastal and marine
ecosystems in the Philippines. GEF estimated that only five percent of coral reefs
are in excellent condition while mangroves have decline by as much as 57 percent
in the last 23 years while Asian Development Bank (ADB, 2005) reported that sea
grass losses have been estimated at 30 -50 % over the last 50 years. During the
last three decades, 70% of old-growth mangrove swamps were destroyed. For the
larger forest ecosystems, the country had already reached the limits of its arable
lands in the early 60’s and 70’s, but since a lot of people still depend on
agriculture for livelihood and daily sustenance, forest lands are now being
converted to agricultural lands (HES Consortium, 2004). Only less than 10% of
primary forest, and 20% of total forest cover remains.
The 1970s saw the modernization of agriculture in the Philippines with the
introduction of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of rice which led to loss of
genetic diversity (HES Consortium, 2004). From the country’s 5,000 indigenous
rive varieties, only a few remain in the farmer’s field today because these original
varieties have already been cross-bred with HYVs. To achieve increase in yield,
farmers later found out that these HYVs require higher dosages and highly
dependent of modern inputs. Between 1973 and 1983, the annual fertilizer
consumption increased by an average of 4 % while pesticide use increased by
three-fold between 1980 and 1987. Bridges (2007) informed that despite of high
average rainfall, the Philippines was estimated to have the second to lowest per
capita freshwater rates in Asia as of 2000 due to over-extraction of groundwater,
water pollution, and denuded forests and watersheds. Solid waste generation in
Metro Manila is estimated at 5,345 tons per day, which is expected to double by
2010. Only about 65-75% of total waste generated in Metro Manila is collected
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
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and about 13% recycled. The 25-35% of uncollected waste is disposed of
improperly, especially in creeks resulting in health problems and flooding.
All components of our ecosystem, both living and non-living, have distinct
and unique functions and are interconnected creating a balance necessary for
sustaining life, thus destruction of one has repercussions on all. Hence there is an
urgent need to properly manage natural resources and protect the environment to
improve the quality of life of the present as well as that of future generations. To
meet this challenge, the operational strategy of ADB (2005) for the Philippines
focuses more on poverty reduction, social development and environmental
improvement and strengthening the LGUs.
It is interesting to note that the Philippines was the first country that
established a national Agenda 21 called the Philippine Agenda 21 (CADI, 2000).
It provides for the creation of an enabling environment which would assist various
stakeholders to integrate SD in their decision-making processes. Executive Order
No.15 created the Philippines Council for Sustainable Development (1992) which
is tasked to establish guidelines and mechanisms that will expand, concretize, and
operationalize SD principles and incorporate them in the preparation of the
development plans at the national and local levels. One strategy being pursued by
The Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan 2001-2004 – Philippines (ILO,
1996-2008) is the employment of clean production technologies and more
environment-friendly materials. This strategy shall be intensively promoted in
consultation with the private sector and civil society.
First among the eight overarching goals of the Philippines’ Millennium
Development Goals (NEDA, 2005) is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by
2015. The National Physical
Framework Plan (2001-2030) of the
Philippines embodies the country’s land
use policy agenda towards the
utilization of land and other physical
resources to obtain the maximum
possible social and economic benefits
for the people. For Non-Government
Organizations (NGOs), one
environmental management strategy
being employed in the country is the
Plans
Projects
Implemented
Development
Indicators
Results
Figure 1. The old and existing
paradigm of Analytical
Framework
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direct community-based actions implemented by the Environmental Legal
Assistance Center (ELAC, 2000) in Rizal and Quezon towns. Their activities
include: 1) information gathering, 2) core team organizing of community
members who participate in the actual implementation of the community direct
action, 3) processing of information gathered and laying out a case-specific
implementation plan, 4) re-echoing of implementation plan with the organized
core of participants. 5) arresting persons committing or assisting illegal logging
activities and seizing and confiscating paraphernalia used and turning over to
local officials or mandated government agencies for custody, and 6) ELAC takes
over the case for litigation.
In academic institutions, Segovia and Galang (2002) of Miriam College
said that for SD to happen it must take root in the consciousness and cultures of
society, a task in which education plays a very important part. On their part,
Miriam College has integrated environmental education in its programs as part of
its mission and commitment to produce a genuine "steward of creation". The Old
and Existing Paradigm in the Philippines: (Taken from power point
presentation titled The State of The Nation produced by Susan Roxas for
FCOMT, n.d.). Over the past 50 years, each administration (From Macapagal to
Macapagal) has applied the same prescription and measure of progress to the
development process. The prescriptions through investments and the indicators of
development (GNP) are products of a world view formed by the Industrial
Revolution of the 19th century. At best, the paradigm is inadequate in managing
the increasing complexity of a postmodern nation. At worst, the results (economy
growth, GNP etc) are devastating. Thirty two million Filipinos live on less than
23 pesos a day. More than 1 in 3 children are malnourished. The land can no
longer support a population growing faster than the world average. At least 2,600
Filipinos leave the country each day to find work promising their families a better
future that should reduce our unemployment by 1% a year.
The pathology lies in the analytical framework of our approach to
development as shown in Figure 1. If the indicators (economy growth, GNP etc)
do not reflect reality, the solutions compound the problem. The serious mistake
was to treat the country as if it were a single, homogeneous territory inhabited by
an equally homogeneous community with a uniform psychological, mental and
cultural base Roxas (n.d.). Roxas added that any framework for development must
consider the diversity of the country and must be tailored-made for the people
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living in communities that draw subsistence from diverse habitats and
ecosystems.
A central message is clear: SD as a concept is offered as the solution to
most problems associated with human interaction with the natural environment.
Specifically, it may mean that there is a need for a shift in the approach to
organization and management at a variety of levels. The current initiative is
intended to conduct a pre-feasibility study on a proposed paradigm shift to the
Ecosystem Centered Community Based Organization and Management (ECSOM)
Protocol within the Province and Municipality framework of Aurora as well as
Aurora State College of Technology.
The Realities of Aurora Province
Aurora is considered as one of the last forest frontiers of Northern Luzon
and the country of the Philippines. It is envisioned as a model of environmental
and bio-diversity conservation in the Asia-Pacific Region and to be a partner in
the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor Program of the Conservation
International-Philippines (SD-Enhanced PPFP 2004).
However, Aurora is one of the poorest provinces in the Luzon and among
the 20 poorest provinces in the country. Aurora Province itself is a victim of
environmental denudation as manifested by frequent landslides and flashfloods
and it has been confirmed that protection areas are subjected to various degrees of
misuse (PPFP, 1993-2002). Mass wasting commonly result to sedimentation of
rivers and flooding of low lying areas and these affect the watersheds’ support to
agricultural areas. Most if not all existing Watershed Forest Reserves have no
effective on-site management putting these areas into an open access protected
forestlands where illegal encroachers or forest resource users can come and go at
the expense of the resources therein. Individual families who are primarily
focused on food security, characteristically moving from ecosystem to ecosystem
worsens settlement development through illegal logging, slash and burn farming
and charcoal-making activities (PPFP, 1993-2002).
Wetlands which are mostly found in Baler and Casiguran and serve as a
sanctuary of indigenous birds and some migratory birds are now being converted
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to riceland areas and fishponds. The province’s remaining mangrove areas of 459
hectares mostly found in Dilasag and Casiguran are continuously depleted and
converted to other land using activities such as fishponds and prawn farming.
Mangrove areas, which are classified protection area (P.D. 705) are continuously
titled to private individuals. With mangrove depletion, coral reefs as breeding and
feeding grounds of various species of fish and crabs, and natural breakwater of
coastlines from sea waves also diminish (PPFP, 1993 – 2002).
Poverty incidence in the province has increased between 1994 and 2000
from 43% to 64% according to surveys (PPFP, 1993 – 2002). The Human
Development Index (HDI) based on the National Statistical Coordination Board
2002 Report is 0.585, lowest amongst the provinces in Central Luzon. Out-
migration shown by the decrease of the Indigenous Peoples (IP) population in
Aurora between 1998 and 2000 from 12,000 to about 8,500 indicates that this is
associated with enhanced economic opportunities in neighboring provinces.
Although the jurisdictions are dedicated to development in their municipalities
and across the province, these results indicate that an organization and
management paradigm shift may be required.
On March 2, 2006 the Honorable Governor Bellaflor Angara J. Castillo
indicated her desire to engage the broader community, creating a multi-sectoral
approach towards purposive linkaging and network building to pave the way for
effective and coordinated efforts across various sectors for development
undertakings. She added further that community participation in planning is
extremely important to Aurora’s development. The commitment of the Province
of Aurora to SD within their participatory planning process is being combined
with the vision of ASCOT to create a SD network. In the current work, this
commitment was further facilitated by the involvement of all eight Municipalities
of Aurora, Civil Society (CS), People’s Organizations (POs), Cooperatives, and
other academic institutions’ participation in the consortium. These synergistic
potential of these stakeholders have the potential to be used for the development a
full proposal on the implementation of ECSOM, but also focus on the institutional
relationship of ASCOT with the province.
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ASCOT, in part is focusing on the great potential of education to have its
share in the Philippine drive for SD. The College is moving to institutionalize a
Marine Science undergraduate and adult education program (Watts et al. this
volume). These efforts form part of the initiative on the conservation of marine
resources in the Province of Aurora to ―make provincial planning work for the
poor‖ and implement a Marine Biodiversity Program that assists in balancing
development between ecosystems; encompassing research, education and
governance, strategically for sustainability. The Office of Extension and Training
at ASCOT has a vision of enhancing programs based upon the needs of the
people; a sustainable participatory approach at the community level. One
developmentis the Farmers' Information and Technology Service (FITS) - one-
stop information shops located at the LGUs where technologies for increased food
production, information on conservation of natural resources etc. can be accessed.
METHODS
Maximo T. Kalaw Insitute of Sustainable Develppment (MTKISD) funded
and conducted a country-wide survey on interests and opportunities for an
operational approach to SD. Three (3) areas including Aurora were selected based
not only the presence of worthy biodiversity resources, but also on clear needs for
poverty reduction/sustainable livelihoods and most importantly both political and
institutional commitment (Roxas and Imson 2007). This preliminary step is seen
as a Pre-feasibility installation (PFI) study for implementing the full ECSOM
(Ecosystem-centered Community-based Organization and Management) Protocol.
Background and Objectives
The PFI was required in the planning and problem identification phase of
project cycle to ensure all possible problems were anticipated and identified,
alternative solutions were appraised and the preferred solution met the
sustainability criteria. The overarching goals of the endeavor was ―to facilitate the
consciousness of the stakeholders on the factors that influence their general
welfare; motivate and capacitate them to own and manage development
processes; and empower them to sustain it through local efforts for local
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progress.‖ The primary objective of PFI is thus to provide local stakeholders with
the scientific impetus for proceeding with the mobilization for a full piloting of an
ECSOM system making every process participatory. This was carried out in three
distinct phases:
PHASE I: Groundworking (Organizing)
Objectives:
1. To assess and build-up local and institutional support and capacity for
the undertaking.
PHASE II: Participatory Situational Assessment
Objectives:
1. To undertake comprehensive community scanning to establish a sound
understanding of the development situation being addressed;
2. To involve the stakeholders in the undertaking and facilitate their
consciousness-raising on their development situation including the
resources of and within the community, thereby building a local
constituency.
PHASE III: Selection of Entry Points and Preliminary Designing of an
ECSOM Application (Identification of Interventions)
Objectives:
1. To undertake a detailed analysis of the obtained development situation
and constraints that ECSOM is to address;
2. To identify opportunities and key considerations (such as legislative
frameworks, projects, trends, etc.) that point to or in themselves serve
as entry points for ECSOM.
3. To identify and define the linkages between an ECSOM application
and poverty reduction.
To prevent the rapid destruction of life systems, the development
paradigm had also to change. With the PFI process, the limitation posed by the
previously used SD-Enhanced PPFP (2004) on participatory situational
assessment was avoided. With the priority of poverty and environmental
degradation as a global, national and provincial concern, the change in focus
becomes paramount, our concerns and commitments also need to change.
The Research Main Objective
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The symptoms of some environmental disorder at global, national and
local levels are evident This study aims to test a PFI (Pre-feasibility installation)
as an initiating intervention in addressing the widening poverty in the rural areas
in the rural areas and give Aurora the benefits of an SD approach to facilitate
community transformation and ensure SD.
The Research Specific Objectives:
1. To establish the difference on Organizational and Management and
Ecology-based Community-centered Planning (OMECP) with respect to
an enhanced planner role paradigm before and after the PFI as a
preliminary approach to ECSOM installation in Aurora Province.
2. To establish the difference on OMECP with respect to an enhanced
community participation paradigm before and after the PFI as a
preliminary approach to ECSOM installation in Aurora Province.
3. To establish the difference on OMECP with respect to an enhanced
individual participatory action paradigm before and after PFI as a
preliminary approach to ECSOM installation in Aurora Province.
4. To identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Provincial infrastructure
as a result of PFI as preliminary approach to ECSOM installation in
Aurora Province.
5. To establish the difference in the ruling paradigm for OMECP in the
Province thus making ECSOM installation a feasible strategy for SD as a
result of the PFI.
Research Questions
1) What constitutes a new environmental planning paradigm?
2) What ECSOM planning practice shows evidence of adoption of the new
paradigm?
Scope and Delimitation of the Study
The domain of this action research method was characterized by a social
setting where the researcher covered the entire Province of Aurora during the
period of the study in the year 2007. The development of grassroots leadership is
a long-term process and the ultimate impact of this study may only be felt and
understood over a longer period of time. Thus, rather than concentrating on the
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
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impact of the initiating intervention, this study was centered on how the
stakeholders participated in the initiating interventions, the organization of the
community and the planners and how they facilitated the PFI.
Due to the short timeframe of the study, it was necessary to bring all the
stakeholders together to gather the issue of participation on planning, community
and individual participation, data base collection and over-all, the feasibility of
ECSOM installation. The focus was on the short-term development of planners
and community leaders for their individual and group leadership and attitudes.
The Hypothesis
Corollary to the foregoing concepts the following hypotheses were
advanced for statistical testing. Hypotheses 1 to 3 focus specifically on the effect
of the PFI as participatory action research in Aurora Province. Hypotheses 4 and 5
consider the viability and appropriateness of a full ECSOM installation in the
Province.
Hypothesis 1: As a result of a PFI as a preliminary approach to ECSOM
installation in Aurora Province; Organization Management and Ecology-based
Community Centered Planning (OMECP) advanced significantly with respect to
an enhanced planner role paradigm.
Hypothesis 2: As a result of a PFI as a preliminary approach to ECSOM
installation in Aurora Province; OMECP advanced significantly with respect to an
enhanced community participation paradigm.
Hypothesis 3: As a result of a PFI as a preliminary approach to ECSOM
installation in Aurora Province; OMECP advanced significantly with respect to an
enhanced individual participation paradigm.
Hypothesis 4: As a result of PFI as a preliminary approach to ECSOM installation
in Aurora Province, there was a significant change in the mode of situational
analysis which results to identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the
provincial infrastructure.
Hypothesis 5: As a result of PFI, there was a significant difference in the ruling
paradigm for OMECP in the province thus making ECSOM installation a feasible
strategy for sustainable development.
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
16
Research Design
The study was conceptualized as an action research which is primarily
applicable for the understanding of change processes in social systems. The
research is a typically cyclical process linking theory and practice (Baskerville,
1999). Action researchers are among those who assume that complex social
systems cannot be reduced for meaningful study. They believe that human
organizations can only be understood as whole entities. The fundamental
contention of action research is that complex social processes can be studied best
by introducing changes and observing the effects of these changes.
Action research is collaborative as it challenges the position of the social
scientist as privileged observer, analyst and critic where the researcher and the
practitioners come together to identify potential problems, their underlying causes
and possible interventions (Cronholm, S. & Goldkuhl, G, 2004). The problem is
defined after dialogue with the researcher and group so that the ideas may be
communicated and a mutual understanding is reached (Grundy and Kemmis,
1981). This paradigm shift becomes demand-driven wherein the needs of the
communities are addressed and priotorized.
Action research is characterized by intervention experiments that operate
on problems or questions perceived by practitioners within a particular context.
"It is based on the Lewinian proposition that causal inferences about the behavior
of human beings are more likely to be valid and enactable when the human beings
in question participate in building and testing them" (Argyris and Schon, 1991).
With the intervention of the researcher as Director for Extension and Training
Services of ASCOT, he becomes part of the study and becomes one of the study
subjects as implied by a process of participatory observation.
In summary, this action research adopts the four common characteristics
found through careful survey of the action research literature with widespread
agreement by research authorities: 1) collaboration among participants, 2) a
problem focus based on an action and change orientation; and 3) an "organic"
process involving systematic stages; Thus, the PFI design included 1) formation
of consortium; 2) information gathering; 3) participatory assessment, and 4)
identification of interventions.
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
17
Research Population and Sampling Technique
Stakeholders comprised the study population. This included the Planner
Stakeholders (PSs) and the General Community Stakeholders (GCSs). The PSs
were the Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator (PPDC), Provincial
Agriculturist (PA), Municipal Planning and Development Coordinators
(MPDCs), Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officers (MENROs),
Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officers (MWDOs), Municipal
Health Officers (MHOs), Municipal Agrarian Reform Officers (MAROs) and the
Municipal Agricultural Officers (MAOs).
Since this study used a participatory approach among planners and community
leaders of the eight LGUs within Aurora Province, respondents were selected by
randomized sampling from planner stakeholders (PSs) and the general community
(GCSs). Two (2) sample PSs were taken from each municipality and four (4) from
the Provincial Office for a total of 20 PSs for the whole province. Thirty sample
GCSs were taken from GCSs.
Questionnaire as Research Instrument
In particular, this study used ECSOM designed prototype questionnaire for
customized data collection and processing. A pre-test and post test were given to
respondents. In particular, the design of the questionnaire was intended to find out
the influence of PFI on the levels of involvement of PSs and the GCSs towards
their participation in ECSOM. A separate questionnaire intended for planners and
another for GCSs were administered for the respondents but containing the same
set of questions. See Appendix A and B for the sample questionnaires. To get the
reliable answers from the respondents, particularly from the GCSs, the
questionnaires were translated into Tagalog by the late Dr. Benjamin P. Galban of
ASCOT who has a Ph. D. in Filipino-Linguistics.
For the post-test, the goal was to involve them in planning, to provide a
background on the proposed ECSOM and elicit their reactions. On a likert scale,
the respondents were asked to answer the questions.
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ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
18
Objective 1 was set to establish the difference on organization
management and ecology-based community-centered planning (OMECP) with
respect to an enhanced planner role paradigm before and after PFI as preliminary
approach to ECSOM installation in Aurora Province. The PSs themselves and the
GCSs were asked eighteen questions. The questions focused on partnerships and
advocacy for organization and resource based management, collection of data,
planning, decision making, and partly on the implementation.
Objective 2 was laid to establish the difference on OMECP with respect to
an enhanced community participation paradigm before and after PFIPPP as
preliminary approach to ECSOM installation in Aurora Province. The PSs and
GCSs themselves were asked how did the GCS’s participation paradigm change
for which ten questions were asked:
The General Community Members…
11.. Participate in resource management plans/councils.
22.. Suggest possible solutions of minimizing or preventing environmental
problems..
33.. Take a role on education and information campaigns (EIC) on biodiversity
significance and the dangers of environmental damage on health..
4. See themselves as a steward of the environment.
5. Are involved in identifying environmental problems found within their
community.
6. Voice environmental concerns through letters and petitions.
7. Conduct barangay cleanups or join/start ecology/resource management groups.
8. Use resources sustainably with emphasis on the needs of future generations and
activities such as reforestation.
9. Seek out livelihood alternatives to avoid over-exploitation of resources.
10. Focus on partnerships for strength and legitimacy in governance.
Objective 3 was put to establish the difference on OMECP with respect to
an enhanced individual participatory action paradigm before and after PFIPPP
as preliminary approach to ECSOM Protocol installation in Aurora Province.
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
19
Ten questions were asked for the PSs and GCSs which are as follows:
1. I participate in resource management group meetings.
2. I am involved in identifying environmental problems found within my
community.
33.. I am empowered to suggest ways or find possible solutions of minimizing or
preventing ecological/ environmental problems.
4. I see myself as a steward of the environment.
5. I voluntary participate in activities regarding environmental protection
6. I understand Aurora’s three environments: marine, forest and agriculture and
how they are linked.
7. I voice environmental concerns through letters and petitions.
8. I use resources sustainably with emphasis on the needs of future generations
and activities such as reforestation.
9. I seek out livelihood alternatives to avoid over-exploitation of resources.
10. I accept change on ecology based community centered management.
Objective 4 was intended to answer the objective of establishing the
difference in the mode situational analysis which results to identifying the
strengths and weaknesses of the Provincial infrastructure as a result of PFIPPP as
preliminary approach to ECSOM installation in Aurora Province, some of the
questions on Sets A, B and C were collated and analyzed. Specifically, questions
number 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 from set A (PSs’ participation), questions number 2, 4
and 9 from set B (GCSs’ participation) and questions number 2, 3 and 4 from set
C (individual participation) were collated and analyzed. These questions pertain
basically on situational analyis.
Objective 5 was meant to establish the difference in the ruling paradigm
for OMECP in the Province thus making ECSOM installation a feasible strategy
for SD as a result of PFI, all of the questions from sets A, B and C were collated
and analyzed because they all pertains to the overall perception of the PSs and
GCSs on the expected overall implementation of the PFIPP, hence the viability of
the project. It includes the organization, collection of data, planning and decision
making and partly on the implementation.
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
20
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The information reported herein is primarily intended to assist other
Philippine institutions in their assessment of how best to initiate a parallel or local
SD program. The findings and analysis of the study were discussed and
statistically analyzed to find out the effects of the initiating intervention on the
levels of participation of 20 sample PSs and 30 sample GCSs based on the
alternative hypotheses.
Research Question 1: What constitute a new environmental planning
paradigm?
In this study, hypotheses 1 to 3 were focused specifically on the effect of
the ECSOM PFI as participatory action research in Aurora Province. The
following variables were tracked down to determine its effects as environmental
planning:
1) planner role paradigm,
2) community participation paradigm, and
3) individual participation paradigm
The first hypothesis focused on the idea that after the PFI, Organizational
and Management and Ecology-based Community-centered Planning (OMECP)
will be advanced significantly with respect to an enhanced planner role paradigm.
The paradigm shift on the role of PSs as perceived by the PSs themselves and the
GCSs were taken (Table 2).
Table 2. t – test results for an enhanced planner role paradigm.
Stakeholders’
Opinion
Degree of
Freedom
t computed
value
t tabular values (two tailed
test)
5 % 1%
PSs 19 22 2.093 2.861
GCSs 29 4.7 2.045 2.756
Since the t –computed values are larger that their corresponding t – tabular
values both at 5% and 1% levels of significance, we accept the alternative
hypothesis that there is really a significant difference on the change in the PS’s
and GCS’s perspective on the way the planners participate in the ECSOM
program in the Province of Aurora. This study was able to show that the PFIPPP
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
21
becomes essential for planners to implement OMECP. Both stakeholders are
becoming positive the way planners in the government are participating in
environmental protection and developing appropriate environmental legislation.
Planners now shifted their focus on partnerships particularly on situational
assessment. They found that participatory assessment needs the contribution of
other stakeholders including the representation from the communities. . Likewise,
planners now contribute to a primary source data base that for validation of the
communities. By merely asking the validation of the community members gave
them the feeling that they are important.
The implementation of PFI gave the planners a realistic overview of the
possible challenges/opportunities in an area. Using the local consortium that was
set up, each discipline gave their role on education & information campaigns
(EIC) on biodiversity significance and the dangers of environmental damage
(over-fishing for over use of pesticides for DA, logging and pollution for DENR
and disposal of waste for DOH.
The second hypothesis was set to establish the impact of PFI on OMECP
with respect to an enhanced community participation paradigm before and after
PFI as preliminary approach to ECSOM installation in Aurora Province.
Community participation as designed in the implementation of the PFI refers to
active participation from the grassroots. But due to limited time as required by the
study and more on ECSOM which requires about five (5) months to complete the
study plus the wide coverage of the study, the community participation discussed
here also somewhat changed. Community participation refers to the limited
representation of the grassroots who were represented by their respective
barangay captains and some PO representatives during meetings and symposiums
which were conducted at their respective municipalities. The paradigm shift on
the level participation of the community as perceived by the PSs’ and GCS’s were
surveyed through questionnaires before and after PFI. Statistical results were
presented in Table 3.
Table 3. t – test results for an enhanced GCS’s role paradigm
Stakeholders’
Opinion
Degree of
Freedom
t computed
value
t tabular values at levels
of significance (two
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
22
tailed test)
5 % 1%
PSs 19 5.3 2.093 2.861
GCSs 29 0.7ns
2.045 2.756
The alternative hypothesis must be accepted that there is a significant
difference on the community participation paradigm shift before and after PFI as
preliminary approach to ECSOM installation in Aurora Province as perceived by
the PSs. However, the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference on the
community participation paradigm shift as perceived by the GCSs themselves
should also be accepted.
There seems to be conflicting answers here. While the planners foresee
that there was really a paradigm shift among the GCSs, the GCSs themselves
claimed there was none. This could be attributed by the fact that the planners
rated more the change in attitude of the leaders in the community on whom they
usually have more contact while the GCSs rated the overall participation of the
community-the grass root levels as a group.
With the planners perspective, they rated the very strong community
formation that was observed among ASCOT, the other planners and particularly
the general community leaders. Involvement of the community leaders in all parts
of the planning process was found to increase. Likewise, their level of
understanding and concern on environmental changes also increased significantly.
Since the motion was already set, planners expected it to be sustained thus rating
a paradigm change among the community leaders.
With the community leaders (barngay captains) perspective, they rated the
questionnaire on how the general community-the grassroots level looked at the
impact of the PFI. Involvement of the local people or the grassroots in all parts of
the planning process was very minimal because the researcher was able to
penetrate only some barangays in two municipalities. This is expected as these
results require a full ECSOM installation process.
Using the third hypothesis which sought to prove that ECP will be
advanced significantly with respect to an enhanced individual participatory action
paradigm before and after PFI. Individual here refers to the individual respondents
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
23
who answered the questionnaires. They represent all the planners and the overall
reactions of the barangay captains and PO representatives. The individual
involvement of the PSs and the GCSs were assessed before and after the
intervention. Statistical results are shown in Table 4.
Table 4. t – test results for an enhanced individual’s role paradigm.
Stakeholders’
Opinion
Degree of
Freedom
t computed
value
t tabular values (two tailed
test)
5 % 1%
PSs 19 11 2.093 2.861
GCSs 29 3.9
2.045 2.756
Since both the computed t-values for the planners and GCSs are larger
than the t tabular values, we accept the alternative hypothesis that there is a
significant difference on their individual participation (respondents) on the SD
program in the Province of Aurora. Therefore, there is change in the PSs’ and
GCSs’ (respondents) perspective on the way they individually participate in the
SD program.
There was a change on the way every respondent participates in resource
management group meetings and activities regarding environmental protection, in
the identification of environmental problems found within my community, in
suggesting ways or finding possible solutions of minimizing or preventing
ecological/ environmental problems and in the use resources sustainably with
emphasis on the needs of future generations and activities such as reforestation.
Likewise, they understand more Aurora’s three environments: marine, forest and
agriculture and how they are linked and see themselves environmental stewards.
They are more likely to seek out livelihood alternatives, avoid over-exploitation
of resources, and accept change on ecology based management.
With the evolving role of the LGUs, facilitation then played a key role on
the expansion of people’s participation in governance from planning to evaluation
through the organization structure espoused by the system—household
clustering—and diffuse situational assessment to the stakeholders. Facilitation
then played a key role. The processes were aligned (from groundwork,
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
24
community entry, data-gathering, and planning) with LGUs mandated processes
to build on these instead of competing and duplicating these efforts.
Significance of the Study
Data on this study could be used at the national and local levels, at Aurora
State College of Technology and other institutions.
1. ASCOT - The study has been a big step forward for the Office of Extension
and Training in terms of exploring the role of ASCOT in catering the needs of
Aurora Province in sustainable development or SD. Efforts to use the current
work in the development of SD and livelihood programs for residents of
Aurora is ongoing. Results of this study are also being integrated with
ASCOT’s other SD efforts currently under development. For example, the
ECSOM approach is a significant part of the approach to developing a Marine
Science program (Watts et al. this volume). Likewise, at ASCOT the hope is
that others will increasingly incorporate the results of the current study on
extension services and eventually curriculum for Agriculture and Forestry,
Environmental Science as well as on the organization and management
courses at the Masters level. The process itself is an educational experience
not only for the researcher, but also for the institution as it involves itself into
community synergy.
2. Local Level – the ECSOM Consortium would involve the development of a
primary data base in the Province of Aurora at the provincial, municipal, and
barangay level which could greatly enhance the secondary sources used in the
Provincial Physical Framework Development Plans, Municipal Physical
Framework Development Plans and Barangay Investment Plans. Data serve as
inputs for monitoring of the impact of programs undertaken by the national
and the LGUs in their respective communities.
3. National Level - through the PPFFII,, tthe current work attempts to provide
planners at the national level an intervention that could be used as a model for
Provincial SD program and. the linkages to the Philippine based MTKISD.
4. International level - The next step in applying the current study is to report
the details of the investigation through two distinct lines of international
communication: action research and sustainable development. This significant
ASCOT Research International Journal, Volume 3, December 2010
25
step involves the reformulation of the thesis itself (Macose 2008) to provide
contributions that would fit with the international standards of these two
disciplines. This will involve some of the information above, as well as the
results for all hypotheses tests, requiring further discipline specific analysis and
background research.
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