Today, the Land Portal launched a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) section to track land-related SDGs. This is a joint initiative of the GLTN-GLII and the Land Portal Foundation, funded by the Omidyar Network.
UN member States endorsed the 2030 Agenda and committed to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 Global Goals, in a 15-year period. Agenda 2030 contains land-related indicators under SDG 1, 2, 5, 11 and 15. Each goal includes specific targets and indicators addressing land. Many land organizations and stakeholders are committed to fully implementing the SDGs and to monitoring the land-related indicators in order to promote responsible land governance. Land is a major resource and cross-cutting component, critical to achieving the SDGs.
The SDG section on the Land Portal includes the targets and indicators related to land, a timeline of important decisions that have been made for indicators, and the site’s latest news and blogs on land and SDGs. New content will be published weekly, in concert with the GLTN and the SDSN.
Learn more about this initiative by clicking here.
I manage USAID/Colombia’s Land and Rural Development Program (LRDP). Since 2009, I have worked with USAID and have supported USAID’s assistance to the Government of Colombia (GOC) on land related issues. I lead the coordination and implementation of actions to strengthen GOC institutions so they can better and more effectively reach out to remote conflict-affected rural areas and deliver services that will allow Colombia’s sustainable transition to peace. LRDP is USAID’s largest land-related program globally.
At the national level of the GOC, and mostly in the regions, I have seen evidence of how weak land governance and land policies fuel conflict, open doors for illicit economies to flourish, and limit the opportunities for positive transformation within conflict-affected regions while hampering sustainable development and mobilization of resources. At USAID, we are working closely with the national government, as well as the departmental/municipal governments and communities to address structural issues that have impeded effective implementation of land policies in Colombia.
Why is land tenure/property rights important to your work at USAID?
Land has historically been at the heart of the Colombian conflict. For more than 50 years, Colombia has tried to implement socio-economic development in rural areas and to transform conflict affected regions that have weak land governance and land tenure issues as common denominators. When land rights are unclear, socioeconomic development is either limited and/or unsustainable. USAID-targeted regions have faced displacement (Colombia has the second highest number of displaced people in the world, after Syria), very low public and private investment, and difficulties in securing sustainable results for those who most need development opportunities and are vulnerable due to this limitation. At the moment, Colombia has a window of opportunity to address land policy barriers as a result of the peace accord. If Colombia can begin to properly address land policies, this will lead the way for sustained economic growth, increased agricultural production, strengthened state presence, sound environmental practices, and equality for all its citizens. Although a difficult and long-term task, doing this is mandatory if the interest is to truly generate positive conditions in rural areas of Colombia.
What are some of the biggest challenges you see in addressing land tenure/property rights issues? And how are we tackling these challenges?
Some of the main technical issues have to do with lack of access to land information required to implement land policies; a heavy, confusing, and sometimes contradictory legal framework; a diverse array of institutions involved in each process; diminished institutional capacity to address the magnitude of decades of land governance decay that accumulated during the conflict; and unequal distribution of land. Other more difficult issues have to do with political, economic, and social overlapping interests in relation to land.
USAID provides support to the GOC in three different phases. In 2010, we provided support at the public policy level with inputs to the Victims and Land Restitution Law and with the establishment of the GOC conditions to implement it, including the creation of both the land restitution and the victims unit. In 2012 we provided support with increased capacity in the field to begin the implementation of land restitution while support at the national level to address issues such as cadaster versus registry, access to information, institutional architecture continued. In 2013 USAID transitioned its support from filling a service gap within the GOC to providing tools and support to strengthen GOC agencies and remove internal bottlenecks to in turn enable the GOC entities to be fully responsible for accomplishing their institutional mandates. Furthermore, USAID supports the strengthening of local actors such as youth and women groups, mayors and governors to allow their empowerment and regionally-led approach to land policy implementation. Finally, USAID mobilized funding from both the public and private sectors into the areas where we support land policies to commit their investment in economically viable public-private partnerships based on appropriate value chains for each region. With this approach, the expectation is that land beneficiaries will find the right economic conditions in rural areas to transform their lives and their future.
What are some successes USAID has achieved in the land sector?
One of the main successes regarding information management has to do with the launch of the first digital platform in Colombia that will allow over 10 government entities to access and share land restitution-related information in real time instead of through cumbersome and paper-based transactions. It significantly decreases the time it takes the GOC to address land restitution in Colombia. This required significant effort and investments to recover data from the information systems of each one of the participating institutions, yet this information system is still an important base to address broader land policies mandated in the peace accord.
In relation to land formalization, USAID and the GOC have begun the implementation of the first massive land titling pilot in Colombia through a sweep methodology in which the GOC will test how to address massive land titling instead of on a case by case basis. This pilot is expected to significantly reduce the cost and time it takes the GOC to issue titles in any given municipality of Colombia and will, therefore, allow more conflict affected families to access titles quicker. It will also strengthen land governance in conflict-affected municipalities which will allow them to access investment and programs more easily. USAID also supported the signing of eight public private partnerships in targeted regions to make sure that land beneficiaries find the right conditions to remain in their land and improve their livelihoods. These partnerships are showcasing how the public and private sectors can work with small agricultural producers effectively and to secure gains for all the participants, generating trust across all stakeholders.
Finally, according to a recent evaluation of USAID/Colombia land programming, evidence shows that USAID support contributes to strengthening land restitution, with a strong emphasis on gender and ethnic minorities in the recommendations made to the GOC. This evaluation also showed that USAID programming has significantly strengthened institutional coordination and planning while providing contributions at the policy level that have proposed new and more efficient institutional arrangements, that has facilitated decision making.
Final thoughts?
Land in Colombia remains critical to secure, sustainable, and licit conditions to transition rural areas into thriving economies. However, the technical and bureaucratic complexity that revolves around this matter has not permitted sufficient actions at the highest decision-making levels of the GOC. Technical approaches need to be paired with sustained political will and a strong institutional agenda. While the peace accord is a significant step forward, it is just the beginning of a set of conditions that are required and that, in the longer term, will have effects in land policy implementation. It may sometimes sound easier to try and achieve development in conflict affected rural Colombia without getting involved in the longer term and very complex agenda that land entails. However, international experiences around the world have demonstrated that ignoring land issues is seldom a good idea, Colombia precisely being one of them. I believe one of the main challenges is to continue with sustained support while remaining realistic regarding the process that addressing land issues implies.
USAID partnership results in the paving of a 13km mountain road that will allow more than 500 Colombian families to diversify their crops and reach national markets.
Originally appeared on Exposure.
As he looks out over his coffee trees, Leonardo Rodríguez Durán—a representative of 11,000 cafetera families—recalls how a harvest of several tons of blackberry and lulowere recently discarded by farmers, who were en route to a market in the municipality of Agustín Codazzi, located in Cesar, in northern Colombia. The dirt road, devastated by the rainy season, was so damaged that perishable fruit did not stand a chance. Farmers threw their arms in the air and just left the spoiled harvest on the side of the road.
He also remembers the many times seeing how farmers would throw away bruised avocados at that market, due to hours of transportation in the trucks that managed to get through the 13 kilometers in one piece and get down the mountain.
The road, which has caused so many headaches for farmers and residents of Alto Sicarare, consists of a 13-kilometer stretch of the 46-kilometer highway connecting Agustín Codazzi with rural villages, San Jacinto and Sicarare.
This area, which sits at the Colombian-Venezuelan border, suffered for decades at the hands of guerrilla and paramilitary groups, who for decades murdered community leaders in order to take over their land and grow illicit crops. The violence eliminated any possibility of development.
“Unfortunately, illicit crops created focal points for violence and brought armed groups to the area. There were no roads, and supplies were transported by mule,” recalls Diego Armando Osorio, a representative of the Agrosolidaria Codazzi Association who is trying to reactivate the campesino economy.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking proposals to provide technical assistance to USAID’s Office of Land and Urban (LU) in the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment (E3) as described in this Request for Proposals (RFP).
USAID anticipates awarding approximately seven Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contracts, of which approximately three may be set aside for small business concerns. The Agency reserves the right to award more or less awards than anticipated, or to make no award. USAID anticipates that the maximum ordering limitation of the contract(s) resulting from this RFP will not exceed $650,000,000 over the five-year ordering period. The maximum aggregate dollar value of task orders awarded to all contractors cannot exceed this contract ceiling. This ceiling is not being subdivided among the number of awardees nor is it being multiplied by the number of awardees.
Award of a contract under this RFP is subject to availability of funds and other internal USAID approvals. There is no guarantee as to the number of task orders that the successful contractors will receive or the amount of money beyond the minimum order guarantee set forth in the RFP.
Upon award of the Strengthening Tenure And Resource Rights II (STARR II) IDIQ contracts, USAID anticipates issuing the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) Task Order, which will be a Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) Term and Completion task order comprised of a three-year base period and two one-year option periods. The total estimated cost for the task order is between $22,000,000 – $26,000,000.
This is a Sources Sought Notice (SSN) to identify Small Businesses that are interested and capable of performing on a E3/Land and Urban, Communications, Evidence and Learning (CEL) Project. The U.S Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment (E3), Office of Land and Urban (LU) is issuing this Sources Sought Notice which is intended to:
Conduct market research to gauge the interest and capabilities of small business concerns to provide services as described in the draft Statement of Work (SOW) titled “E3/Land and Urban, Communications, Evidence and Learning (CEL)” project;
Solicit and obtain input, advice, knowledge, and best practices from organizations interested in participating in USAID’s evaluations, research, communications, knowledge management, training, and technical assistance within the land tenure, resource governance, and sustainable urbanization sectors.
The purpose of the Communications, Evidence and Learning project is to create, expand, and disseminate the results of evidence-based knowledge around: 1) land tenure, property rights, and resource governance, and 2) urban development, urban-based programming, and sustainable urbanization. Project activities and results will guide USAID and U.S. Government program design and implementation, inform policy discussions, and improve decision making to maximize the effectiveness of limited development resources to accomplish key U.S. Government development objectives such as: mitigating conflict, fostering economic growth, promoting resilience, improving women’s economic empowerment, enhancing food security and nutrition, supporting climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts, improving urban service delivery, strengthening local and urban governance, and improving urban health.
USAID welcomes all segments of the public (in the U.S. and abroad) to respond to the RFI. Small businesses are highly encouraged to respond. Responses are due by September 1, 2017.
USAID facilitated a public-private partnership with Tolima-based cooperative CAFISUR to give coffee farmers better options to sell unwashed coffee, maintain quality, and reach new markets
Originally appeared on Exposure.
In 2016, USAID-funded Land and Rural Development Program began working with CAFISUR to find a solution to this problem so common in Southern Tolima. After a series of stakeholder meetings, the partners signed a public-private partnership worth US$8.24 million, which supports the installation of a coffee drying plant in Chaparral, the heart of Tolima coffee country. Under the partnership, Colombia’s Rural Development Agency committed to invest approximately US$800,000.
The drying plant will allow CAFISUR to purchase up an additional 3,500 metric tons (MT) of wet coffee from thousands of farmers in the region and will allow the cooperative to double its purchasing—from 10,000 MT to 20,000 MT—over the next three years. The increased purchasing will put a US$7 million in the pockets of thousands of farmers.
“The drying plant will help them reduce post-harvest losses and maintain quality control of their coffee. These benefits will translate to higher revenue for farmers,” explains Váquiro, CAFISUR’s general manager. The installation of the processing plant is also expected to have a motivational effect on farmers, inspiring them to cultivate new areas and to replace old, less productive coffee trees.
Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno and Department of Natural and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Director for Northern Mindanao Edwin Andot signed a Memorandum of Partnership Agreement (MOPA) on May 12, 2017, which will pave way for land administration and management reforms in the city. The partnership enables the exchange of records and data including maps and survey records, joint conduct of land-titling activities, and learning opportunities for city government officials to perform duties related to land administration and management processes.
Considered the growth hub of Northern Mindanao, the city is poised to be the metropolitan center for nearby provinces of Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon.
Currently, the city is already facing urban land constraints with 90 percent of its population occupying only 20 percent of its 57,850-hectare land area. It has to unlock its agricultural lands if more lands are required for horizontal expansion of residential and commercial areas.
USAID’s SURGE Project is assisting the city government and DENR achieve its goal of establishing a land titling program as part of its work in improving land tenure security in the city. The project facilitated the partnership, and the creation of an inter-agency council to lead land administration and management initiatives in the city.
The Land Management Council, comprised of representatives from the Cagayan de Oro City Government, DENR, Department of Agrarian Reform, Land Registration Authority, Bureau of Internal Revenue, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry will provide the unified policy direction and support to the land titling program in the city. The council is committed to streamline land titling procedures that will provide patents for at least 140,000 untitled parcels in Cagayan de Oro.
Additionally, the city appointed a Systematic Adjudication Team (SAT) to help DENR address problems on untitled lands. Based on SURGE assessment studies conducted in 2016, 30 percent of Cagayan de Oro’s land parcels remain untitled.
Lulu Lumagsao, officer of the City Housing and Urban Development and a member of the SAT, attended a training held recently in Cagayan de Oro.
“The training for the SAT helped us gain a deeper understanding of the land registration process. We learned a lot about the processes on investigation, inspection and verification of titles, which are important to effectively undertake the job,” explained Lumagsao.
The SURGE Project is working with national government agencies, local government units, and other partners to unlock the potential of land to stimulate investments and inclusive growth by helping establish a well-functioning land market.
Read our latest updates on a new partership, trade and investment, conservation, reproductive health, water and sanitation, urban development, land tenure, science and technology, marine biodiversity, financial inclusion, resilience and tourism.
U.S. Government and Legazpi City enter into partnership to promote inclusive and resilient urban growth
U.S. Embassy in the Philippines [United States Agency for International Development](https://www.usaid.gov/philippines) \(USAID\) Mission Director Dr. Susan Brems and Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal signed a Memorandum of Understanding on May 17, 2017, making Legazpi the seventh city in the Philippines to join USAIDs Cities Development Initiative \(CDI\).
Through this initiative, USAID works closely with city governments outside Metro Manila to fulfill their potential as engines of inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and resilient growth. In Legazpi City, which is located in Southern Luzon, USAID will provide a range of technical assistance in economic growth, health, environment, governance, and education.
> Legazpi City is a key driver of growth in the Bicol region, with tremendous potential to pursue inclusive development in surrounding localities in Albay and beyond, says Dr. Brems.
USAID and its CDI city partners, including local government and the private sector, work together to develop and implement city action plans to address economic growth, education, environmental resiliency, and health challenges. \[Legazpi\] City will be able to enhance its competitiveness and acquire the knowledge and skills to address disaster risks. These \[projects\] will help sustain our citys development, says Mayor Rosal.
Other USAID CDI partner cities currently include Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Tagbilaran, and Zamboanga.
During her May 16 to 19 visit to Legazpi City, Dr. Brems met with local officials to discuss good practices of their Climate\-Adaptive and Disaster\-Resilient program that has successfully prevented casualties during major disasters. Dr. Brems also toured the USAID\-supported Taysan Health Center, and met with representatives of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 5, the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office, local government, and civil society on the USAID\-developed Lawin Forest and Biodiversity Protection System.
Dr. Brems capped her visit with a trip to the rice fields of Polangui. USAID, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office 5 and local governments of Polangui, Albay and Buhi and Nabua, Camarines Sur, has increased 600 upland Bicol farmers resilience to extreme weather by introducing farming advisories and technology such as small\-scale irrigation systems.
**Philippines launches RORO route for Asia**
When I visited Indonesia in September last year, one of the most important commitments that I forged with President Widodo was the opening of the ASEAN Roll\-On, Roll\-Off \(RORO\) route between the Philippines and Indonesia, says Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at the official opening of the new Davao\-General Santos\-Bitung \(DGB\) RORO route in Davao City on April 30, 2017.
RORO ferries serve a vital function in archipelagic Philippines: they enhance passenger mobility; reduce transport costs, especially for cargo; and promote faster transit time versus cargoes placed on large ships. If the benefits of RORO shipping can be transposed to the rest of ASEAN, an ASEAN RORO Project can potentially generate closer business and tourist ties within the region.
The ASEAN RORO Project is a flagship project under the 2010 Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity \(2010 MPAC\) and a Philippine legacy project for the ASEAN, which is why the launch was symbolically held on the tail\-end of the 2017 ASEAN Summit in April. The ASEAN RORO Project also complements the potential single ASEAN Single Shipping Market put forward in the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services, which calls for the elimination of market access restrictions and preferential treatment.
USAID provided technical and policy assistance on the push for the establishment of the ASEAN RORO project, and the potential network of ASEAN trade routes. The USAID Economic Growth Hubs \(EGH\) Project extended technical assistance to the Philippine delegation to the ASEAN High Level Task Force \(AHLTF\) as it crafted the 2010 MPAC. After the EGH Project ended, the [Advancing Philippine Competitiveness \(COMPETE\) Project](https://www.usaid.gov/philippines/partnership\-growth\-pfg/compete) continued providing assistance to the Philippine Government on the implementation of the ASEAN RORO initiative.
Opening maritime trade routes is a long process of reconciling policy in both the Philippines and Indonesia, and gaining the cooperation of both national and local government agencies and private stakeholders, such as port and RORO operators, traders, and manufacturers. COMPETE participated in various high\-level discussions with both governments and the ASEAN business community, culminating with the September 2016 presentation of the ASEAN RORO Network to President Duterte by COMPETE Chief of Party Dr. Enrico Basilio. In January 2017, COMPETE was part of the Philippine ASEAN RORO Task Forces delegation to Jakarta, Manado, and Bitung in Indonesia to prepare for the launch of the DGB route.
On policy, COMPETE provided technical inputs to the Mindanao Development Authority \(MinDA\) as it advocated for the Chassis\-RORO \(ChaRO\) Policy, which originally required shipping containers to be detached from their chassis prior to boarding the ROROs, making the process of loading and unloading RORO cargo unnecessarily time\-consuming. To this end, President Benigno Aquino III issued Executive Order \(EO\) 204 in March 2016, expanding the definition and coverage of RORO to include the ChaRO service, making the loading of goods on RORO ferries faster and more efficient. More importantly, it also standardizes RORO service between the Philippines and Indonesia, which requires ChaRO service for its RORO ferries.
For its part, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry \(DTI\) successfully negotiated with the Indonesian government to lift restrictions on three Philippine commodities entering Bitung Port electronic products, garments, and food and beverages. Indonesia also permitted the importation of Philippine beauty products, fertilizer, construction materials, fresh and processed fruit, agricultural inputs, tinned food, and packaging material. In return, the North Sulawesi\-Mindanao trip may now bring in Indonesian coconut, lumber, fish and furniture to be traded in the Philippines.
> At the launch of the DGB Route, President Duterte hailed the event as a reminder that our relationship is not just between trade partners, but between friends that are tied together by a bond that transcends borders.
Campaign for conservation launches in the Philippines
Thanks to USAID support, the Philippines first Campaigning for Conservation \(C4C\)a hands\-on workshop on conservation behavior change designed by environmental organization Rare for local campaignerswas launched in Palawan, Western Visayas, in April 2017.
The immersive ten\-day workshop aimed to support conservation initiatives in the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape \(MMPL\), a priority site for USAIDs Protect Wildlife Project.
Twenty\-six \(26\) C4C participants from the five municipalities under the MMPL, representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Palawan\-based NGOs, converged in Brookes Point to learn behavior change theory, social marketing research, and campaign messaging and design. To apply concepts into practice, participants worked on a model campaign for Brookes Point to engage indigenous communities to participate in ongoing forest land use planning for MMPL.
After the workshop, the participants produced a suite of campaign materialsincluding a puppet show, billboard, discussion board, campaign song, posters, radio drama and sermon sheetsfor Brookes Points model campaign. The participants will now apply for support from USAID’s Protect Wildlife to help mount their own behavior change campaigns in their respective municipalities.
Hotline encourages at\-risk teens to seek counseling
Teenage pregnancies in the province of Batangas, Southern Luzon, rose by 27 percent from 4,500 in 2013 to almost 6,000 in 2014. The alarming trend of rising teen pregnancies prompted Dr. Mercedita Salud of Batangas Provincial Health Office to launch an SMS \(text messaging\) hotline program to provide teenagers with information about reproductive health and family planning. Dr. Salud designed the campaign as part of her participation in the Communicators for Communication \(C4C\) training program funded by USAID and the Department of Health.
The C4C, implemented by USAIDs [Communication for Health Advancement through Networking and Governance Enhancement or CHANGE Project](https://www.usaid.gov/philippines/health/change), was a six\-month training course which enabled over 100 health officers and health communication officers like Salud, to design and run information and communication programs. Dr. Saluds program, Trending Now: Spreading Knowledge on Adolescent Health, posited that communicating with the target group via a method where they are most comfortable will be key to its success. Hence to promote the hotline, Dr. Salud designed posters and flyers and disseminated them across the province via teen forums and kiosks, as well as in public and private high schools and hospitals. She also used local radio to promote the hotline.
The hotlines text messaging feature provided teens anonymity and allowed them to share their views and feelings more freely. Teenagers were encouraged to make positive health and lifestyle decisions, such as delaying sexual debut and avoiding sexually transmitted infections and other health risks. The hotline also encouraged the youth to visit the Provincial Health Office for further counseling. Within the first three months of the program, the hotline received over 100 youth\-related messages. During that period, in\-person consultations with the Batangas Provincial Health Offices counselor rose from 25 to 64 individuals, and also helped identify several HIV\-positive cases.
The CHANGE Project contributes to the reduction of maternal and child deaths, increase in contraceptive prevalence rate, reduction in Tuberculosis prevalence, and prevention of HIV/AIDS in the Philippines.
USAID links Tagbilaran and Maynilad to upgrade water and sanitation services
On April 27, 2017, Tagbilaran City Mayor John Geesnell Yap and Maynilad Water Academy Executive Director Rodora Gamboa signed a Memorandum of Understanding \(MOU\) that establishes a collaborative partnership toward enhancing the efficiency of the citys local water utility.
With the MOU, the City Government and Maynilad Water Services, through its Maynilad Water Academy, will develop and implement a one\-year joint work plan that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Tagbilaran City Waterworks System \(TCWS\) in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Central Visayas.
The TCWS will benefit from the exchange of good practices, expertise and technology in water supply operation and non\-revenue water management through joint data gathering and consultation, remote coaching and mentoring, study visits and on\-the\-job training.
USAID’s [Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity \(SURGE\) Project](https://www.usaid.gov/philippines/economic\-growth\-and\-trade/strengthening\-urban\-resilience\-growth\-equity\-surge\-project) facilitated the partnership, and has been working with the TCWS to improve its water and sanitation delivery services since late last year. Currently, the TCWS only produces 68 percent of its concessionaires maximum daily water demand and provides water services for only 8 to 18 hours a day. USAID/Philippines representative John Avila witnessed the signing ceremony, affirming, USAID promotes sustainable water and sanitation services that are essential to achieve resilient and livable urban areas.
Twenty\-five \(25\) city government personnel involved in city planning and urban development from USAIDs eight CDI partner cities passed the June 2017 environmental planner licensure exam. These officials from the cities of Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Iloilo, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Tagbilaran and Zamboanga received coaching through training and review sessions, and reference materials from USAIDs SURGE Project to help them prepare for the annual exam.
Mr. Jojo Sicat, City Planning and Development Officer of Zamboanga City in Western Mindanao, remarked that the SURGE workshop for city planners held in June 2016 and succeeding review sessions helped him understand better concepts in environmental planning and its legal and administrative aspects. He is one of eight officials in Zamboanga City who passed the exam.
The SURGE Project estimates that about 80 percent of government planners in its CDI partner cities are unlicensed, and the Philippine Environmental Planning Act of 2013 requires all government planners to have a license to practice environmental planning. USAID/SURGE is strengthening local capacity in urban development in CDI cities by enhancing the technical competence of city personnel to develop and implement climate resilient and socially inclusive plans as required by Philippine laws and on par with international practices.
Cagayan de Oro City unlocks potential of land
Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno and Department of Natural and Natural Resources \(DENR\) Regional Director for Northern Mindanao Edwin Andot signed a Memorandum of Partnership Agreement \(MOPA\) on May 12, 2017, which will pave way for land administration and management reforms in the city. The partnership enables the exchange of records and data including maps and survey records, joint conduct of land\-titling activities, and learning opportunities for city government officials to perform duties related to land administration and management processes.
Considered the growth hub of Northern Mindanao, the city is poised to be the metropolitan center for nearby provinces of Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon.
Currently, the city is already facing urban land constraints with 90 percent of its population occupying only 20 percent of its 57,850\-hectare land area. It has to unlock its agricultural lands if more lands are required for horizontal expansion of residential and commercial areas.
USAIDs SURGE Project is assisting the city government and DENR achieve its goal of establishing a land titling program as part of its work in improving land tenure security in the city. The project facilitated the partnership, and the creation of an inter\-agency council to lead land administration and management initiatives in the city.
The Land Management Council, comprised of representatives from the Cagayan de Oro City Government, DENR, Department of Agrarian Reform, Land Registration Authority, Bureau of Internal Revenue, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry will provide the unified policy direction and support to the land titling program in the city. The council is committed to streamline land titling procedures that will provide patents for at least 140,000 untitled parcels in Cagayan de Oro.
Additionally, the city appointed a Systematic Adjudication Team \(SAT\) to help DENR address problems on untitled lands. Based on SURGE assessment studies conducted in 2016, 30 percent of Cagayan de Oros land parcels remain untitled.
Lulu Lumagsao, officer of the City Housing and Urban Development and a member of the SAT, attended a training held recently in Cagayan de Oro.
> The training for the SAT helped us gain a deeper understanding of the land registration process. We learned a lot about the processes on investigation, inspection and verification of titles, which are important to effectively undertake the job, explained Lumagsao.
The SURGE Project is working with national government agencies, local government units, and other partners to unlock the potential of land to stimulate investments and inclusive growth by helping establish a well\-functioning land market.
USAID transforms lives with grants for research
Technology research is at the forefront of innovation and inclusive economic growth as local scientists make headway in translating discoveries into sustainable livelihood for communities in the country.
To date, USAID’s [Science, Technology, Research and Innovation for Development \(STRIDE\) Program](http://www.stride.org.ph/) awarded 65 grants to universities amounting to a total of PhP259,354,400 \(approximately US$5,475,062\). These grants created strong partnerships among Philippine academic institutions, industries, and various collaborators through STRIDEs grant mechanisms.
The grants help scientists, entrepreneurs and inventors pursue research to help them transform discoveries into products and companies. STRIDE focuses on disciplines that contribute to high\-growth sectors such as electronics, chemical industries, alternative energy, translational medicine, agri\-business, information communication technology, and mobile computing, with cross\-cutting themes of manufacturing and new product development.
In Iloilo City, STRIDE research grantees from the Iloilo Science and Technology University lent a hand to fisherfolk still reeling from the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda \(international name Haiyan\)the deadliest storm to hit the Philippines in 2013.
USAID/STRIDE awarded PhP10,990,000 \(US$233,832\) to scientist Dr. Bernadeth Ticar, an expert in medicinal chemistry, chemical biology and biochemistry, to research with an industry partner on the health and economic benefits of hyaluronic acid \(HA\) found in the native _asuhos_ \(silver\-banded whiting fish\) in Iloilo. Watch this
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zVD0ednlXA) to learn more.
In Cagayan de Oro City, USAID/STRIDE research grantees from Xavier University transformed perishables into new products to give small farmers an alternative market. A grant amounting to PhP9,693,000 \(US$206,000\) was awarded to Dr. Ma. Rosario Mosqueda to work with an industry partner to research on viable solutions that will ensure sustainability of vegetable supply chains. Dr. Mosqueda and her team developed a laboratory\-scale heat pump drying system for vegetables using locally available resources. Watch this
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzORvQnUjtk) to learn more.
Local partners commit to sustain better fisheries management practices
USAIDs [Ecosystems Improved for Sustainable Fisheries \(ECOFISH\) Project](https://www.usaid.gov/philippines/energy\-and\-environment/ecofish) held culminating activities in two of its project sitesBohol and Batangas, to highlight the successful partnerships for sustainable fisheries in the last five years.
In Bohol, USAID/ECOFISH turned over the Integrated Fisheries Management \(IFRM\) Plan developed under the project to partner local government units \(LGU\). This addresses the critical fisheries problems and issues in the Marine Key Biodiversity Area \(MKBA\) and prescribes inter\-LGU and MKBA\-wide management actions related to enforcement, fishing effort restriction, marine protected area establishment and conservation enterprises, to name a few. In Danajon Bank, USAID/ECOFISH focused on reversing the impact of overfishing in coastal communities around the reef, which is the only double barrier reef in the Philippines.
In Batangas, the impact of the annual seasonal closure in Balayan Bay, the first inter\-LGU fishing ban initiative in the Philippines, was highlighted. Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas, in his keynote message,underscored the successful implementation of this initiative that was supported by USAID/ECOFISH, and highlighted that this will be implemented every year until 2020.
Bolstering SMEs through an inclusive financial system for all
USAID/COMPETE Projects mission towards a more inclusive financial system reached a milestone in April, with the start of the Credit Information System Beta Test Phase on April 28, 2017.
The Credit Information System, or CIS, is an important step in fostering financial inclusion in the Philippines. According to the
[National Baseline Survey on Financial Inclusion](http://www.bsp.gov.ph/downloads/publications/2015/NBSFIFullReport.pdf) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, 72 percent of credit comes from informal sources, like loans from friends or family members or money\-lenders from the community. Formal financial institutions are constrained from lending to consumers and micro and small medium enterprises \(MSMEs\) for lack of information about their credit behavior.
Republic Act 9510, or the Credit Information System Act \(CISA\) of 2008 sought to fill that gap by establishing a CIS that can collect and provide accurate information on borrower transactions. Credit transactions with cooperative and rural financial institutions are also included in the CISA data\-gathering processes. An SME with a good credit score can thus avail of financial products especially loans relatively quickly, and at better terms, with the credit score serving as proof of the companys ability to pay debts, among other things.
To operationalize CIS, the CISA mandated the creation of the Credit Information Corporation \(CIC\) which is tasked to receive and consolidate basic credit data, to act as central repository of credit information, and to provide access to reliable and standardized credit information to lending institutions, private credit bureaus, consumers and enterprises. The COMPETE Project provided CIC with technical and material assistance in organizing roundtable discussions and credit information roadshows with an aim to help the financial institutions comply with the CICs data requirements, and inform the public about the benefits of having an efficiently functioning credit information system.
With COMPETE Project, CIC increased the participation of data\-submitting entities. As of September 2016, 21 universal banks, 19 commercial banks, 56 thrift banks, 758 rural banks, 333 financing companies, 16 credit card companies and 116 credit cooperatives have registered with CIC. By April 2017, a total of 3.6 million unique data subjects and 13.8 million unique contracts were uploaded in the CIS, with nine million more data subjects pending. Having accumulated enough data, CIC organized a public launch of the CIS Beta Test Phase on April 28, 2017. The beta test phase is set to run for nine months to work out usage and security issues. During the Beta Test Phase, fully compliant submitting entities will be allowed to access to CIC data.
USAID sees the CIS rollout as a significant step towards financial inclusion. All of COMPETEs efforts have brought us here today: the launch of a Philippine credit information system that has more robust, comprehensive, and highly reliable credit data, said Jeffrey Lehrer, Chief of the USAID Office of Economic Development. \(This\) can significantly contribute to the countrys promotion of greater financial inclusion, and inclusive growth.
Making space for all the unbanked Filipinos who depend on unregulated, informal lending is on top of CICs agenda, says its president Jaime Garchitorena. Our goal for the next year is to improve the quality of the data available to the CIC with the help of all the submitting entities. We want cooperatives and microfinance institutions to lend more. For people who have never borrowed before because theyve never been considered a good risk by banks, they can get a credit score if they are active members of credit cooperatives. For banks, CIC is committed to help you lend more safely. This is the promise of the CIS inclusive growth, and prosperity for all.
USAID supports cities gain greater access to resilience funding
City government representatives from USAIDs CDI partner cities enhanced their knowledge and skills on adaptation project preparation and how to access sources of financing during a five\-day intensive learning event in Manila on June 19 to 23, 2017.
The training was co\-organized by USAIDs Climate Change Adaptation Project Preparation Facility for Asia and the Pacific \(Adapt Asia\-Pacific\) and the SURGE projects. More than 25 representatives from the city governments of Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Iloilo, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Tagbilaran and Zamboanga learned to package urban resilience proposals aligned within international and national adaptation strategic frameworks.
Going through the process of project proposal development, participants outlined adaptation initiatives that can address climate impacts. Other participants joined the training through the online sessions simultaneously broadcast over the Internet. The training proved to be a success, in particular the peer learning approach gave the cities the opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences and practices.
The cities will prepare adaptation proposals that integrate gender and social inclusiveness, resilient planning, and the legal and institutional frameworks to access international and local sources such as the Philippine Climate Change Commissions Peoples Survival Fund.
To watch video testimonials of the cities, click [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk7frBQkME0&feature=youtu.be).
New Puerto Princesa Airport opens
The new Puerto Princesa Airport was unveiled on May 3, 2017 in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Western Visayas, to help boost tourism and trade in one of the country’s top tourist destinations.
The PhP4 billion \(US$79 million\) facility has a floor area of 13,000 square meters and a seating capacity of 1,500, and a 2,600\-meter runway that can accommodate bigger aircraft like an Airbus A330, with six parking bays. The new control tower and other navigational equipment boast of a modern air navigation system compliant with international standards.
It is considered the country’s ‘greenest’ airport, with its unique design of transparent roofing, and a program that encourages reduction of carbon footprint. About 20 flights are operating daily in the new airport.
Cities Development Initiative
USAID is working to strengthen the economic competitiveness and resilience of secondary cities outside of Metro Manila through its [Cities Development Initiative \(CDI\)](https://www.usaid.gov/philippines/partnership\-growth\-pfg/cdi). The CDI seeks to advance the development of secondary cities as agents of growth that is inclusive, environmentally sustainable and resilient. Depending on the most urgent needs of the city, USAID provides a range of technical assistance, drawing from resources in economic growth, health, energy, environment, governance, and education to assist the cities achieve resilience and inclusive growth.
The CDI is a crucial component of the broader Partnership for Growth and Equity, a White House initiated whole\-of\-government partnership between the U.S. Government and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines. The partnership aims to shift the Philippines to a sustained and more inclusive growth trajectory on par with other highperforming emerging economies. Currently, USAID has seven CDI partner cities: Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Tagbilaran and Zamboanga. General Santos City in South Cotabato, Southern Mindanao is an upcoming partner city.
