PHILIPPINE AGENDA 21  The civil society needs to specify its
commitments and contributions to achieving
What is Agenda 21?
Agenda 21 is a program of action into the 21st
century for bringing the Earth into a sustainable
future. It was adopted by the participating
governments of the world in the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED), otherwise known as the Earth Summit,
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 1992.
What is Philippine Agenda 21 (PA 21)?
Philippine Agenda 21 (PA 21) is our own national
agenda for sustainable development. It is
basically made up of:
 The Principles of Unity
 The Action Agenda
 The Implementation Strategies
PA 21 is the Philippines’ commitment to the
UNCED. It also lays down the mix of strategies
that integrate the parameters in the country’s
overall development strategy, identifies the
intervention areas (or Action Agenda) – from the
national to the regional level – with the
corresponding implementing platforms and plans.
What is the Vision of PA 21?
PA 21 envisions a better quality of life for all
through the development of a just, moral,
creative, spiritual, economically-vibrant, caring,
diverse yet cohesive society characterized by
appropriate productivity, participatory and
democratic process and living in harmony within
the limits of the carrying capacity of nature and
the integrity of creation.
What is sustainable development?
Sustainable development as defined in the PA 21
(1996) is “harmonious integration of a sound and
viable economy, responsible governance, social
cohesion and ecological integrity, to ensure that
development is a life-sustaining process.”
What is the Enhanced PA 21?
Ten yeas after the UNCED, world leaders
gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa for the
World Summit on Sustainable Development
(WSSD) to reinvigorate global commitment to
sustainable development. In line with the
Johannesburg Summit, the PA 21 was updated
into the Enhanced PA 21, particularly noting that:
 The rise of globalization and the creation of an
external environment of finance, markets, and
technology did not seem conducive to
sustainable development.
sustainability in the updated document.
 Government departments need to be imbued
with the sustainable development perspective
with which to handle issues properly.
What are the Goal Elements of the Enhanced
PA 21?
The Enhanced PA 21 has five goal elements,
as follows:
1. Poverty Reduction: Poverty is a central
concern of sustainable development. Consistent
with this, the various consultations for the
updating of PA 21 have yielded poverty reduction
agenda that includes measures to create an
enabling economic environment for sustained
and broad-based growth; improve employment,
productivity and income; and attain food security.
2. Social Equity: Social equity should mean
allocation of resources on the bases of efficiency
and equity to achieve balanced development.
Efficiency and equity mean the channeling of
resources to developing areas where greater
economic benefits accumulate and where there is
greater need, distribution being dependent on the
practicality and urgency of needs.
3. Empowerment and Good Governance:
Empowerment is a precondition of informal
choices. Good governance is a necessary
precondition to empowerment, as empowerment
is to good governance. These two are a defining
element of each other.
4. Peace and Solidarity: The cycle of poverty
and conflict goes on as the costs of war escalate
in terms of various kinds of destruction while
withholding funds for basic services, resulting in
more poverty and underdevelopment.
5. Ecological Integrity: In general, the path
towards enhancing the integrity of the country’s
ecological domain will have to involve heightened
and sustained implementation of environmental
laws, as well as the continued pursuit of resource
conservation, and environmental
restoration/enhancement programs.
What is the Philippine Council for Sustainable
Development?
The Philippine Council for Sustainable
Development (PCSD) is a multi-sectoral body
formed to coordinate and monitor the fulfillment
of the commitments of the Philippines to the
UNCED, and later, the WSSD. It has
spearheaded the formulation of PA 21.
Who are the key actors in sustainable
development work?
 Philippine Agenda 21 (PA 21) recognizes three
key actors in sustainable development, and
their roles in different realms of society. They are:
 Business, the key actor in economy, which is
mainly concerned with producing goods and
services for people.
 Government, the key actor in polity, which is
concerned with democratic governance and
security of human rights.
 Civil society, the key actor in culture, which is
concerned with the development of the social
and spiritual capacities of human beings.
Philippine Agenda 21 is the nation’s blueprint
for sustainable development. In concreting the
vision, it describes a path for individuals,
families, households and communities; an action
plan for each ecosystem (coastal/marine,
freshwater, upland, lowland, and urban); and
across ecosystems in consideration of the
interaction of the various lifescapes and
landscapes found therein. The path is grounded
on respect and active advocacy for the
empowerment of the various social groupings of
society to manage the economy, critical
resources, society and culture, politics and
governance and in the arena of foreign relations.
Philippine Agenda 21 advocates a fundamental
shift in development thinking and approach. It
departs from traditional conceptual frameworks
that emphasize sector-based and macro
concerns. Philippine Agenda 21 promotes
harmony and achieves sustainability by
emphasizing.
 A scale of intervention that is primarily area-
based. The national and global policy
environment builds upon and supports area-
based initiatives.
 Integrated island development approaches
where applicable. This recognizes the
archipelagic character of the Philippines
which includes many small island provinces.
 People and integrity of nature at the
center of development initiatives. This
implies the strengthening of roles,
relationships, and interactions between and
among stakeholders in government, civil
society, labor and business. Basic sectors
have an important role to play in achieving
equity and managing the ecosystems that
sustain life.
PA 21 was adopted on 26 September 1996,
with the issuance of Memorandum Order No.
399 by then President Fidel V. Ramos which
identified the roles of the Philippine Council for
Sustainable Development (PCSD) and each
sector in the operationalization of PA 21. The
action agenda is based on the imperatives of the
current national situation and emerging
landscape for sustainable development.
CAPACITY 21 project was a capacity-building
initiative designed to assist the government in
fulfilling its commitment to the 1992 Rio Earth
Summit. Specifically, it aimed to support the
PCSD in integrating the principles of Agenda 21
into national planning and development.
The major components of the project were:
(1) formulation of the Philippine Agenda 21
(PA21); (2) documentation of sustainable
development practices; (3) human resource
development; and (4) conduct of the Information,
Education and Communication (IEC)
programme. These components were aimed at
developing stakeholders’ capacity to fulfill their
mandate and perform their tasks in pursuit of
sustainable development for the country.
The Capacity 21 Project has linked several
government agencies (such as the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports,
the Department of Social Welfare and
Development, the National Economic and
Development Authority, the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources) with
several youth organizations from PO and NGOs
in the preparation of the Philippine Agenda 21.
This is a catalytic project that assisted PCSD
members and other stakeholder groups in
building their capacity to integrate principles of
sustainable development and the Philippine
Agenda 21 into their development plans and
programmes. One objective of the project is the
upgrading and strengthening of the institutional
and technical capabilities of PCSD towards the
promotion and sustenance of advocacy efforts in
sustainable development. That objective will be
pursued through the HRD component of the
project which is designed to develop
competencies, knowledge and the skills
necessary for the formulation, integration,
monitoring and evaluation of the Philippine
Agenda 21.
Sustainable development is development that
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs
economic development that is conducted without
depletion of natural resources.
GOVERNANCE FOR PHILIPPINE AGENDA 21
The GOPA 21 with the support of the
Philippines-Canada Development Fund was
implemented from 1999 to 2002 in order to
strengthen the capacities of stakeholders at the
LGU level in collectively addressing the SD
issues. Its overarching goal is the integration of
SD and PA21 in the decision-making structures
and processes among LGUs. GOPA 21 was
implemented in nine pilot sites in the Visayas
and Mindanao and focused in the partner sites,
participatory and consensus-based formulation
of local Agenda 21, and institutionalization of the
local agenda 21 into the governance processes
of target LGUs.
The project was instrumental in doing the
following: i) identified and adressed priority
capacity-building to enhance capacities of
stakeholders in effecting SD in their respective
areas; ii) formulated social marketing plans to
broaden social acceptability of SD concepts and
initiatives; iii) formulated and adopted policies
and ordinances to be able to sustain the project
outcomes; iv) defined the elements of
localization; and v) conducted and initial
assessment of PA 21 implementation.
Sustainable Cities Programme in Philippines
The Sustainable Cities Programme was
implemented in the Philippines through the
"Strengthening Local Environmental Planning
and Management" (L-EPM) by the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The Project was established to strengthen the
Local Government Units (LGUs) and enhance
their capacities for participatory environmental
planning and management at the local level,
whilst enhancing the capability of national
institutions like DENR and the League of Cities
of the Philippines (LCP) to support LGUs in
EPM. Through the financial support from the
United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and UN-HABITAT, the three year
programme was implemented through a Project
Management Coordinating Unit (PMCU)
established in the DENR, in partnership with the
LCP.
Tagbilaran City Environmental Management
Office (TCEMO) was assisted by three part-
time coordinators for (1) solid, toxic and
hazardous waste, (2) Air quality and traffic,
(3) Coastal resources, water quality and liquid
wastes on temporary assignment to the office.
Over time these City environmental
management tasks have gradually been lodged
within the City Planning and Development
Office.
Successfully promoted the involvement &
participation of key stakeholders in LGU
decision making on priority environmental
concerns, and facilitated the establishment of
broader partnerships with other government
agencies as well as with communities and the
private sector.
Working Group members from civil society
groups were able to acquire technical
knowledge on coastal waste management,
which further strengthened their organization's
interest and helped develop advocacy strategies
to their members, resulting in regular Coastal
Cleaning Campaigns.
The capacities of the LGU were enhanced in
different areas, including the establishment of
Environmental Management Information
Systems & Geographical Information Systems.