SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: ENGAGING TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES

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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTENGAGING TEACHERS AND
STUDENTS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN
PHILIPPINES

• Sophremiano B. Antipolo
• Professor and Director
• Mindanao Center for Policy Studies
• University of Southeastern Philippines
• Angelina S. Pancho
• Affiliate Research Fellow
• Mindanao Center for Policy Studies
• ( Chief, Human Resources Section
• Department of Agrarian Reform, Davao Region)

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OUTLINE

• Evolving Sectoral and Spatial Devt Paradigms
  Highlighting Sustainable Development
• Review of the Brundtland Commission Report
• Philippine Agenda 21
• UNESCOs Convergent Move on ESD
• Engaging Teachers and Students in Community
  Development Reforestation The Philippine
  Experience
• Experiences in Life-long/Life-wide Education at
  the Natl Econ and Devt Authority (NEDA)
• Experiences at the University of Southeastern
  Philippines (USEP)

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Evolving Sectoral and Spatial Paradigms
Highlighting Sustainable Development

• Industrial led-growth paradigm
• Agriculture-led growth paradigm
• National development paradigm
• Sub-national or regional devt paradigm
• Rural-urban linkage paradigm
• Sustainable development paradigm

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Focus Sustainable Development Paradigm

• The Brundtland Commission defines sustainable
  development as development that meets the needs
  of the present without compromising the ability
  of the future generations to meet their own
  needs.

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Two concepts fundamentally linked to the process
of sustainable development

• The Basic Needs of Humanity for food, clothing,
  shelter, and jobs must be met. This involves,
  first of all, paying attention to the unmet needs
  of the poor, which should be given overriding
  priority.

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• 2. The limits to development are not absolute but
  are imposed by present state of technology and
  social organization and their impacts upon
  environmental resources and upon the biospheres
  ability to absorb the effects of human
  activities. But technology and social
  organization can be both managed and improved to
  make way for the new era of economic growth.

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Prerequisites for sustainable development

1. Reviving growth
2. Changing the quality of growth
3. Meeting essential needs for jobs, food, energy,
   water, and sanitation
4. Ensuring a sustainable level of population
5. Conserving and enhancing the resource base
6. Re-orienting technology and managing risk and
7. Managing environment and economics in decision
   making.

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In sum, the Brundtland Commission argues that
the pursuit of sustainable devt requires

1. A political system that secures effective citizen
   participation in decision making
2. An economic system that is able to generate
   surpluses and technical knowledge on a
   self-reliant and sustained basis
3. A social system that provides for solutions for
   the tensions arising from disharmonious
   development

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• A production system that respects the obligation
  to preserve the ecological base for development
• A technological system that can search
  continuously for new solutions
• An international system that fosters sustainable
  patterns of trade and finance and
• An administrative system that is flexible and
  has the capacity for self-correction.

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A More Equitable International Economic System

1. The Development Squeeze
2. Linking Trade, Environment, and Development and
3. Sustaining sustainability.

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The Brundtland Commission Report Issues and
Recommendations

1. Population and Human Resources
2. Agriculture and Food Security
3. Urban Human Settlements
4. Industrialization
5. Biodiversity and Ecosytems and
6. Managing the Oceans.

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Philippine Agenda 21Towards Sustainable
Development

1. The Current and Emerging Landscape for
   Sustainable Development
2. The Conceptual Framework for Sustainable
   Development
3. Elements of a Shared Vision
4. Operational Framework and Action Agenda and
5. Implementation of Philippine Agenda 21.

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UNESCOs Convergent Move

• UNESCO took a convergent move to push for
  sustainable development in the context of
  Education For All grand alliance movement.
• It is contended that providing education
  facilities is only the beginning.
• Education must be improved in quality and in
  relevance to local and community development
  needs.

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• In many areas, it should be integrated with
  childrens or youths participation in farm work,
  a process requiring flexibility in the school
  system.
• It should impart knowledge relevant for the
  proper management of local resources.
• Rural schools must teach about local soils,
  water, and the conservation of both,
  deforestation and how the community and the
  individual can reverse it.

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• In short, education process must span the
  formal-nonformal-informal continuum.
• Thus, education must be considered a life-long
  and life-wide process.
• When viewed this way, the development process
  will not ignore the needs of different ethnic /
  tribal groups and, in the process, education will
  not leave them vulnerable and subject to
  exploitation.

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• Their traditional rights must be recognized,
  local institutions protected, and local
  communities must be given a voice in the
  decisions about resource use in their area.
• When this is done, real empowerment and
  participatory development process will be
  sustained.

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Engaging Teachers and Students in Community Devt
and Reforestation

• Overall Country Experience
• Executive Order No. 303, series of 1973
• The Student Assistance Center for Community
  Service and Reforestation
• National Seminar-Workshop of Students Leaders and
  Advisers at Teachers Camp in Baguio City
• Regional Seminar-Workshop on Community Service
  and Reforestation held in each of the regional
  capitals in the Philippines

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Narrative of experiences (as a Delegate of Xavier
University) in Community Service and
Reforestation

• From the National Seminar-Workshop
• _at_ Teachers Camp, Baguio City
• From the Regional Seminar-Workshop _at_ YMCA
  Hostel, Cagayan de Oro City
• Echo Seminar Workshop _at_ Xavier University, The
  Ateneo de Cagayan
• Summer Youth Civic Action Program (YCAP)
• Organization of Youth Community Service Club
  (YCSC) as an implementation of Re-entry Plan
  after the National and Regional Seminar-Workshop.

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Experiences as a NEDA Professional in Lifelong /
Life-wide Education for Sustainable Development

• Continuing commitment in Summer YCAP advising
  summer interns at NEDA Regional Office
• Sustained cooperation as Honorary Adviser to
  Youth Community Service Clubs (YCSCs) as a
  Regent/Trustee of state universities and colleges
  in Mindanao (as Regional Director in Region IX)

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Experiences _at_ the University of Southeastern
Philippines (USEP)

1. As Professor-in-Charge of a PhD Course on
   Environment and Natural Resource Policy
2. As Director of MCPS in coordination with
   Research, Extension and Lifelong Center
   (Continuing Education Center)
3. Collaboration with Teachers Training Center in
   Mindanao
4. Coordination with the Office of Student Affairs
   (OSA) for Youth Community Service Club Chapter in
   USEP.

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• THE END
• THANK YOU!