PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. has assured that the environment and the country’s resiliency and adaptation to the new normal of climate change will be on top of the national agenda.

Marcos made the commitment during the opening of the three-day forum on environmental challenges wherein over 200 industry and sectors are now attending. The forum, which was initiated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) started last Wednesday and will end today, Friday.

In his keynote address, the President commended the DENR for leading the way in conducting discussions to include all the different stakeholders, to listen to concerns and the opportunities that our stakeholders can provide.

He also noted that the consultations are among the first and most vital steps toward environmental resilience.

President Marcos further stressed that he always believed that there is no greater shared responsibility than the care for our environment.

“Collectively, we not only have the expertise, but also the commitment and the determination to steer our practices and systems towards a greener environment,” Marcos added.

For her part, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to protect the country’s natural resources, and stressed the importance of inclusive and multidisciplinary dialogue across all sectors in making this possible.

“In order to do this, we will need to work with partners to develop integrated strategies for a science-based, risk-informed, ethical and equitable stewardship of our environments,” Loyzaga said.

Loyzaga claimed that this guarantees that each sector’s unique and shared challenges, actionable recommendations and commitments are incorporated in the process of forming the DENR’s policy agenda and multi-year Roadmap for Programs, Activities and Projects (PAP).

The forum aims to produce inclusive long-term policies that will address multi-sectoral challenges in environmental resilience. It will also ensure evidence-informed actions for the protection, conservation, enhancement and regeneration of the Philippines’ ecosystems.

The inputs to be shared by representatives from government, civil society, academe and scientific institutions, private, and development sectors, will contribute to the Resiliency Framework for Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) – an integrated framework for multi-stakeholder strategic engagement in ENR.

“It is our hope that our conversations, the planned national natural resources geospatial database, a new experts advisory council and an organizational review will ensure that our people, processes and products will result in synergies that will transform our department into one that is fit for its complex purpose,” Loyzaga said.

The DENR is committed to creating strategic partnerships and accelerating cooperation and collaboration for the country’s resilience.

The Resiliency Framework for ENR to be produced at the forum will serve as the foundation for science-based, data-driven, and socially, politically and culturally-sensitive environment and natural resource policies.