From 2020-2023, HARIBON’s Women Go project uplifted nine (9) women organizations to actively engage in natural resource and protected area governance. These nine women organizations, including municipal federations in the REINA (Real, Infanta, General Nakar), Quezon area are now government-registered and accredited by their respective barangay and municipal local governments.
Successfully pushing for the recognition of the women groups existing within and adjacent to PP 1636 as legitimate organizations provided them with the privilege to finally get seats in their respective local development councils and/or people’s councils. It is a welcome development for the women of REINA because they can now claim their intrinsic right to voice out women’s concerns and issues during their respective local government’s planning and decision-making sessions.
This culminating stage of the project is a well-earned success and is only among the first of many milestones that the project team has achieved in the past four years.
From being virtually inactive, the women and their groups have transformed, having systems in place that allow for consistent improvement in plans and strategies. This enables them to improve their situation as well as their surrounding environment's circumstances, showing them that they have the power to change their own town’s forests and natural surroundings.
Below are the nine (9) women groups that gave their time, attention, and active participation towards HARIBON’s Women Go project and their own empowerment:
- Kalipunan ng Liping Pilipina (KALIPI)
- KALIPI Federation of Infanta
- KALIPI of Brgy. Gumian, Infanta
- KALIPI of Brgy. Magsaysay, Infanta
- KALIPI Federation of General Nakar
- KALIPI of Sitio Cablao, Brgy. Pagsangahan, General Nakar
- KALIPI Federation of Real
- KALIPI of Brgy. Cawayan, Real
- KALIPI of Brgy. Tanuan, Real
- Kilos Unlad ng Mamayan ng Real, Inc. (KUMARE)
The new women leaders of PP 1636 now consist of:
- 5 barangay-based women organizations
- 3 municipal-wide federations
- 1 local all-women organization with members from 6 municipalities in Quezon
Touted as the first gender-focused and women-led project of HARIBON Foundation, Women Go looked into the history of women in the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) at PP 1636 located in the Sierra Madre Mountain Range, which in the past had no women organization member or group that represented women’s voices. The PAMB, as a management body, should actively promote gender equality and inclusivity, while also ensuring the representation and inclusion of vulnerable sectors in PA governance.
The Women Go project comes at an opportune time as Philippine forests are continuously declining at a concerning rate. From 2001 to 2022, the Philippines lost approximately 1.42 million hectares of tree cover, which is a significant 7.6% decrease in tree cover, since the year 2000 (Global Forest Watch). Meanwhile, women remain major users of forest and natural resources in the country.
Women’s voices must be heard.
Apart from garnering seats at the tables of decision-making discussions, the accreditation of women groups gave them access to funds from their local government units (LGUs) and other agencies’ Gender and Development (GAD) budget. These funds support various planned gender-responsive programs and activities promoting the growth and development of women leaders and improving their resiliency and adaptation solutions from impacts of climate change.
This key milestone in the Women Go project has become a solid foundation for HARIBON’s efforts to ensure people empowerment and sustainable solutions to biodiversity conservation.
The Women Go project is made possible by the European Union in the Philippines, with the support of the Municipality of Real, Municipality of Infanta, Municipality of General Nakar, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Community Environment & Natural Resources Office (DENR-CENRO) Real.
