EXPANDING INVOLVEMENT WITH GEF

Dear Dr. Rosa:
Receive a salute from the Philippines for opening the window of knowledge how the issues of Climate Change and its accompanying development concerns are being addressed at the highest level. We cannot avoid linking the definition of governance made by UNDP, i.e., its domains, to the GEF. But let me dwell on the role of the state being an important leader-player on the matter. Many governments might have already been doing what they are supposed to do but they have yet to make it more apparent and participatory.

I deeply appreciate your response to Ms. Shiela D. Escandon as it encompassed everything about the enduring neglect of bringing results where they should happen due to all what you have excellently described. MfDR for one thing is still very much at the advocacy stage all across the different domains of governance. Not that they don't understand but simply would not take a radical change.

Kindly enlighten me how the agrarian-rural development sector, to specify, at the ministerial level would become a visible player even in few of the focal areas the GEF is pursuing. Apart from the few models, e.g., FAO is doing. The Department of Agrarian Reform has recently having its pilot project entitled Appreciative Resource-based knowledge System by which we have integrated several themes adapting the sustainable livelihood framework. However, DAR as a willing player lacks a good level of technical expertise how we could fully encourage the poor rural sector address the issues of climate change having understood from the report that agriculture pollutes the environment in many ways.It came to our senses that we in fact need technical partners to refine the tools and models we are trying to evolve at the grassroots level.

At this point, I observe that the best intentions are hindered simply because we lack sufficient information how to go about it, with the fear we are stepping on other agency's mandate... even if we all know that climate change requires multi-stakeholders. How could the GEF takes an expanded role of maybe influencing how we could innovate in terms of building dynamic institutional mechanisms breaking the usual rules of horses-galloping in different directions without creating synergies of efforts? Pardon me for the difficulties of making a seemingly common sense common.

Did the GEF ever work interface directly with the governments or the GEF mainly operates via the designate-donor agencies which you mentioned. Pardon again if I missed some of your points from your earlier discussion-replies. Best regards.

Eva Benita A. Tuzon