HARIBON’s Women Go project completed two key milestones in 2022 that would transform the minds, hearts, and lives of the women in Presidential Proclamation No. 1636 (PP 1636). Over 100 individuals finished two (2) foundational courses from HARIBON’s PAG Women Training Plan – Gender and Development (GAD) in Protected Area (PA) Governance and Environmental Leadership and Organizational Management (ELOM); and over 70 women leaders acquired fundamental life skills through the completion of 5 Basic Life Skills modules.
The third year of Women Go had been a momentous one both for the project team and its women partners. They accomplished trainings and workshops that not only developed women’s technical skills but became instrumental to reshaping their views and beliefs about their worth and intrinsic rights. By the end of 2022, the women groups completed the foundational courses: 89 women finished the GAD in PA course while 85 women finished the ELOM course. By 2023, 66 women members and leaders completed life and leadership skills after taking all transformative Basic Life Skills course modules.
Inclusivity and financial support
An important outcome following the foundational courses is the creation of GAD plans during their GAD in PA Governance training activities. This gave the women organizations an opportunity to include programs addressing their concerns and issues, including forest and PA-related concerns. It also allows them better access to local government support, including funding. They eventually shared these plans with their respective local governments units’ (LGU) municipal GAD focal persons to gain assistance for their initiatives. Appropriately, their barangay or municipal LGUs supported some of the proposed programs, mainly activities that are environment related.
Some activities and environment-related programs identified by the women groups which are supported or funded by the LGUs include:
Some activities and environment-related programs identified by the women groups which are supported or funded by the LGUs include:
Women Organization | Environment-related Programs | LGU Support |
KALIPI Infanta Federation |
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KALIPI Gumian |
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KALIPI Magsaysay |
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KALIPI Real Federation |
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KALIPI Cawayan |
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KALIPI Tanauan |
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KALIPI General Nakar |
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KALIPI (Sitio) Cablao |
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KUMARE, Inc. |
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A gender-streamlined PAMP and PP 1636 Legislation
Among the proposals being pushed by the Women Go project is a gender inclusive and responsive Protected Area Management Plan (PAMP) and legislation of PP 1636 as a protected area, with continued lobbying efforts observed by the team.
While PP 1636 is a national park, wildlife sanctuary, and game preserve and is part of the initial components of the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992 that puts it under the care of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), it needs further legislation to be officially established as a PA under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (ENIPAS) Act of 2018 or Republic Act No. 11038.
The call for its legislation is being supported by KALIPI Infanta, KUMARE, and KALIPI Cablao, all of which drafted and submitted a resolution and letter to District Representative Mark Enverga of Quezon Province. The women groups had been continuous in their efforts following up on the status of their request, but there has been no reply to date (December 2023). The legislation of PP 1636 will mean significantly more access to funding for its conservation programs.
The PAMP, on the other hand, is a living document that is dynamic and requires regular updating, and an important tool that communities and different sectors can use to recommend improvements for the overall management and efficient governance of the PA. Strategies that are relevant and inclusive of the needs of all sectors make for a sustainable PAMP that meets the specific needs of each site and are up to pace with new challenges and opportunities. The Women Go project then initiated an assessment of the PAMP of PP 1636 in 2023 to determine its gender-responsiveness using the Harmonized GAD Guidelines Tool.
The project team initiated a workshop on June 2023 to assess the PP 1636 PAMP’s gender-responsiveness guided by the Harmonized GAD Guidelines Tool (2010) formulated by the National Economic Development Authority in collaboration with the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW). Facilitated mainly by one of the members of the Philippine Commission on Women’s (PCW) GAD pool of trainors, Ms. Araceli Bayubay-Mercado and co-facilitated by the BMB-GAD and BMB-Natural Parks Division staff in charge of assessing plans of PA plans, it was attended by several members of the PP 1636 PAMB, Protected Area Management Office (PAMO), and women groups. The updated PAMP was presented for approval to the PAMB last September 13, 2023 during a regular PAMB meeting after results and recommendations from the assessment were applied in the final PAMP.
While PP 1636 is a national park, wildlife sanctuary, and game preserve and is part of the initial components of the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992 that puts it under the care of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), it needs further legislation to be officially established as a PA under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (ENIPAS) Act of 2018 or Republic Act No. 11038.
The call for its legislation is being supported by KALIPI Infanta, KUMARE, and KALIPI Cablao, all of which drafted and submitted a resolution and letter to District Representative Mark Enverga of Quezon Province. The women groups had been continuous in their efforts following up on the status of their request, but there has been no reply to date (December 2023). The legislation of PP 1636 will mean significantly more access to funding for its conservation programs.
The PAMP, on the other hand, is a living document that is dynamic and requires regular updating, and an important tool that communities and different sectors can use to recommend improvements for the overall management and efficient governance of the PA. Strategies that are relevant and inclusive of the needs of all sectors make for a sustainable PAMP that meets the specific needs of each site and are up to pace with new challenges and opportunities. The Women Go project then initiated an assessment of the PAMP of PP 1636 in 2023 to determine its gender-responsiveness using the Harmonized GAD Guidelines Tool.
The project team initiated a workshop on June 2023 to assess the PP 1636 PAMP’s gender-responsiveness guided by the Harmonized GAD Guidelines Tool (2010) formulated by the National Economic Development Authority in collaboration with the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW). Facilitated mainly by one of the members of the Philippine Commission on Women’s (PCW) GAD pool of trainors, Ms. Araceli Bayubay-Mercado and co-facilitated by the BMB-GAD and BMB-Natural Parks Division staff in charge of assessing plans of PA plans, it was attended by several members of the PP 1636 PAMB, Protected Area Management Office (PAMO), and women groups. The updated PAMP was presented for approval to the PAMB last September 13, 2023 during a regular PAMB meeting after results and recommendations from the assessment were applied in the final PAMP.
Building women’s capacities
As part of Women Go’s capacity building program for its women beneficiaries, a Protected Area Governance (PAG) for Women Training Program was developed with its own comprehensive capacity development curriculum. Rolled out in the second year (2021) and sustained until the third year (2022) of the project, it included both GAD in PA Governance as well as ELOM trainings. Below are their training modules, which were developed based on a Training Needs Assessment (TNA) conducted during Year 1 of Women Go.
Gender and Development in Protected Area Governance
GAD in PA Governance is one of the trainings under the Biodiversity Conservation and Protected Area Governance foundational course. Completed by 89 participants in 2022, the training improved women’s appreciation for gender policy frameworks and concepts and how women can influence positive change in their families, communities, organizations, and society, specifically in biodiversity conservation and PA governance. Its modules include:
- Orientation on gender and development
- Mainstreaming of gender in PA Governance using GAD checklist for Natural Resource Management Project
- Women’s empowerment situation and GA tools
- Orientation and situationer
- Vulnerabilities and adaptations of rural and forest dependent women
Environmental Leadership and Organizational Management
As for the ELOM course, it included three (3) trainings/workshops.
A. Team Building and Strategic Planning Workshop
B. Developing the Biodiversity Champion: An Environmental Leadership and Organizational Management Training
C. Financial Management and Record Keeping
A. Team Building and Strategic Planning Workshop
Implemented during Year 2 of Women Go, 85 participants completed this training. Modules involved the following:
- Enhancing teamwork to make the team work
- Introduction to strategic planning
- Setting the direction of the organization
- Formulating the strategic plan
It enhanced the knowledge and relevant skills of its participants on strategic planning and enabled them to formulate their organization’s 5-year strategic plan.
B. Developing the Biodiversity Champion: An Environmental Leadership and Organizational Management Training
Implemented during Women Go’s Year 3 (2022), 95 participants were able to complete this training. Its modules included:
- Environmental Leadership: The Biodiversity Champion
- Basic concepts on leadership
- Elements of an organization
- Organizational management
This series strengthened women’s abilities in gender-responsive leadership and organizational management towards transformation as biodiversity champions.
C. Financial Management and Record Keeping
This training workshop was implemented in 2023, with 43 participants and nine (9) women organizations completing it. Modules involved were:
- Basic concepts and principles of financial management
- Planning and budgeting
- Record keeping (Accounting for non-accountants)
- Financial reporting
- Financial controls (financial policies)
Climate-concious, climate-ready
For the past four years, HARIBON’s Women Go project also transformed the women of Real, Infanta, and General Nakar (REINA), Quezon by advancing their climate mitigation and adaptation knowledge and strategies.
Improving Protected Area Governance in a Forest Landscape Foundational Course
Aimed at strengthening women’s capabilities in PA governance and biodiversity conservation through influencing women’s agenda in managing PP 1636, modules taught were:
- Orientation on gender and development
- Mainstreaming of gender in PA Governance using GAD checklist for Natural Resource Management Project
- Women’s empowerment situation and GA tools
Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
This course gave women working knowledge on Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and DRR concepts and create options to adapt to situations at home, in their communities, organizations, and the workplace. Modules taught are:
- Basic concepts on CCA and DRR
- CC and DRR Situation and Outlook
- Assessing vulnerability and capacity
- Identifying and selecting ecosystem-based adaptation options
- Developing a Project Concept on Nature-based Solutions
Because of the courses, the women were able to implement and include at least four (4) Nature-based Solutions (NbS) projects through Natural Resource Management (NRM), CCA-EbA, and Eco-DRR activities in their organizational plans.
These include:
These include:
- Regular conduct of clean-up drives of 9 organizations/ federations
- Learning sessions/information, education, and communication (IEC) campaign on solid waste management
- Tree planting on adopted restoration site: E-TANIM ang kinabukasan ng kababaihan at kabataan sa kabundukan ng Sierra Madre (Plant the future in the Sierra Madre Mountain Range) by KALIPI Infanta Federation (women and youth in Infanta) and KALIPI General Nakar (women in General Nakar)
- Forest restoration of PP 1636 in the coasts of rivers by KALIPI Cablao
- Mangrove tree planting on KUMARE’s adopted site
- Native seedling nurseries by KALIPI Real Federation
- River/ ILOG (Isalba ang laksang buhay at oportunidad gamit ang lakas ng kababaihan) by KALIPI Cawayan
- Watershed management and installation of catchment basin by KALIPI Tanauan
- Watershed restoration and rehabilitation of water intake box in Gumian PP 158 by KALIPI Gumian
- Agroforestry by KALUPU Magsaysay
- Adopt A River, Watershed or Mangrove by KUMARE
Courage and grit
“This perseverance would show their evolution into the women leaders that they are today.”
Naturally, being able to pursue all required trainings had its fair share of challenges, especially for the women of PP 1636 who already had demanding responsibilities both at home and in their communities. Nevertheless, these hurdles only demonstrated the diligence of the participants and how much they are willing to forgo the familiar ways they are accustomed to and miss some opportunities to earn for the day for their own self-development and self-fulfillment. Some women expressed that Women Go’s modules provided them with much needed tools to become confident and brave to envision futures that they looked forward to.
This perseverance would show their evolution into the women leaders that they are today.
These are but a fraction of the comprehensive trainings that HARIBON created specifically for the women of REINA (Real, Infanta, General Nakar), Quezon. This goes to show that with the right and equitable kind of support, women can feel secure in their abilities to contribute significantly in improving their communities’ collective well-being and resiliency in facing disasters brought about by climate change. This is an affirmation that their voices matter.
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.
This perseverance would show their evolution into the women leaders that they are today.
These are but a fraction of the comprehensive trainings that HARIBON created specifically for the women of REINA (Real, Infanta, General Nakar), Quezon. This goes to show that with the right and equitable kind of support, women can feel secure in their abilities to contribute significantly in improving their communities’ collective well-being and resiliency in facing disasters brought about by climate change. This is an affirmation that their voices matter.
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.
