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  • 04 Jul 2014

A study by the German development agency GIZ has lauded the CTI-CFF National Coordination Committee in the Philippines (NCC-Philippines) for its effectiveness in assembling and coordinating with a variety of stakeholders and organizations.

Such effectiveness gives NCC-Philippines a high potential “to bring in people whose positions can influence national decision-making” and contribute toward achieving their goals, particularly with respect to the CTI-CFF National Plan of Action (NPOA), the study noted, urging the body to harness “this potential continually and sustainably.”

The study, titled “Assessment of National CTI Coordination Committee and the Implementation of the National Program of Action”, was undertaken to assess the existing mechanisms and key roles of NCC-Philippines, its members, Technical Working Groups (TWGs), and the NCC Secretariat.

The study highlighted the NCC’s ability, with facilitation support from the Secretariat, to bring together various parties to carry out activities and complete them. On this basis alone, NCC-Philippines has done a commendable job in facilitating coordination.

“But it is not the system that has made effective coordination possible,” the study stated. The single biggest factor facilitating coordination is the very positive interpersonal relationships among the NCC, the Secretariat, and the working groups, combined with their shared interest in coastal resource management and their willingness to contribute to discussions.

“Coordination with the NCC therefore works as far as mobilizing the participation of members and the TWGs in certain activities,” the study added. However, it is only when the NPOA is fully implemented that the NCC’s real coordinative capacity can be demonstrated and tested—“whether it actually results in the accomplishment of outputs toward the goals.”

Some recommendations put forward by the study to strengthen the NCC include:

  • Designating a senior official and alternate as members of the NCC;
  • Creating an executive committee to handle organizational concerns;
  • Expanding NCC membership;
  • Mobilizing and strengthening the TWGs;
  • Formulating and adopting a manual of operations;
  • Deepening and widening the involvement of local government units;
  • Recognizing and motivating the continued participation of Development Partners;
  • Presenting the CTI-CFF and NPOA at the Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change Adaptation to raise awareness among various departments;
  • Ratifying the CTI-CFF Secretariat Establishment Agreement;
  • Including support for the CTI-CFF as a line item in the Philippine Government’s International Commitment Fund;
  • Establishing the NCC Secretariat as a unit under the Biodiversity Management Bureau’s Coastal and Marine Division devoted solely to the needs of the CTI-CFF and the NCC; and
  • Designating a CTI-CFF Point Person in the environment department’s regional and provincial offices in areas with significant coastal resources.