Atty. Analiza Rebuelta-Teh, the Undersecretary for Finance, Information Systems and Climate Change of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Operational Focal Point of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in the Philippines, shared her insights into the GEF operations in the Philippines during the GEF Introduction Seminar and Knowledge Collaboration Platform Live Demonstration on March 1, 2023.
Undersecretary Rebuelta-Teh recalled the past challenges in project development that the Philippines had encountered and the corresponding initiatives being undertaken to address them. She described the existing coordination framework that involves the national steering committee and, more importantly, the representation of civil society organizations (CSOs).
Relative to the DENR’s portfolio programming for the 8th GEF Cycle (GEF-8), the DENR is promoting and strengthening the country's efforts to address environmental problems by tackling head-on the drivers of environmental degradation and reinforcing the country's obligations and commitments to its multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) while achieving and contributing to global environmental benefits (GEBs) and supporting holistic and integrated approaches to ensure that no sector, especially the vulnerable, is left behind or disadvantaged.
These endeavors could not be realized without a transformative change or a system-wide reorganization of how the environment and natural resources are managed. Changes in social, economic, environmental, and technological dimensions, as well as underlying paradigms, goals, and values, are all part of this transformation. (FASPS/ William Bayhon)
