Asian Journal of Environment and Disaster Management 2010 2 1

doi: 10.3850/S179392402009000349

Improving Natural Resource Governance: A Key to Ensuring Peace and Stability in Mindanao, Philippines

Cynthia Brady¹, Oliver Agoncillo², Maria Zita Butardo-Toribio^3,a and Buenaventura Dolom^{3,b 1}Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation, U.S. Agency for International Development, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington D.C., 20523, USA. cbrady@usaid.gov ²Office of Energy and Environment, U.S. Agency for International Development-Philippines, 8/F PNB Financial Center, Macapagal Boulevard, Pasay City, 1308, Philippines. oagoncillo@usaid.gov ³Philippine Environmental Governance Project, Unit 2401 Prestige Tower, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, 1605, Philippines. ^azita toribio@dai.com ^bbien dolom@dai.com

ABSTRACT

Disclaimer: The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

Following decades of conflict, in 1996 the Moro National Liberation Front signed a peace agreement with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP); implementation of the Agreement was supported by international donors. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) invested in several sectors, including natural resources management, to support the newly created Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and to foster a lasting peace. This case study focuses on nearly ten years of USAID experience in supporting efforts of Local Government Units and communities in conflict-affected areas to improve governance of forest, coastal, and marine resources. Despite flaws in the Agreement and its implementation as well as the combined effects of continuing conflict between the GRP and the breakaway Moro Islamic Liberation Front and other armed groups present in Mindanao, much can be learned fromthe experience of using governance of natural resources as a critical post-conflict stabilization, peacebuilding, and development tool.

Keywords: Environmental governance, peacebuilding, Philippines.

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