Honorable Vice Mayor Tidong Benito ,
Municipality of Sta. Fe
Mr. Isagani Serrano,
President of PRRM
Mr. Ryosuke Kawabe,
Project Manager of GLM Institute
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good morning to you all.
It is indeed an honor and pleasure to join you all today on the turnover of additional irrigation systems for the communities in this province.
First of all, allow me to express, on behalf of the Government and people of Japan, our heartfelt sympathy to all the people affected by the recent typhoon.
I have been in this beautiful country for almost eight months and during my visits in local areas, I have observed that both our countries, as island nations, are endowed with rich natural resources such as vast forest cover, mountains, and sanctuary of rich biodiversity that we can be proud of . It is, however, sad to note that, in the Philippines, which is known as the Pearl of the Orient, there is rapid depletion of its natural resources especially watershed areas. I believe that we are truly responsible for preserving, protecting and enhancing these natural treasures for the future generations.
It is noteworthy that in the Philippines, Japan is the top donor of Official Development Assistance. Japan's ODA has been focusing on programs and projects that uphold and support sustainable environmental awareness and protection, including forest conservation.
Japan believes that there is an urgent need to further strengthen and improve appropriate forest management in this country. We also recognize that the Philippine Government has been dealing with this concern for decades as espoused in its national strategy for sustainable forest management in the Philippines through the Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) Progra m. We have assisted the CBFM program as well as other efforts of the Philippine Government in the preservation of its forest resources for more than ten years. I am pleased that your project continuously supports this undertaking.
Although small in scale, we are pleased that during its two years of successful implementation, this Project's community-based activities has brought sustainable fruits to the participating communities and empowered linkages and partnerships among communities and local government units. It is inspiring to hear that the irrigation systems installed last year has been efficiently utilized by the participating communities and thus, enhanced forest management in their respective areas. I believe that those who have undergone trainings from GLM Institute will continue the dissemination of appropriate technologies and environmental awareness in their respective localities.
I would like to highlight the importance of establishing your own sustainable and self-sufficient activities so that through your efforts, you would be able to attain regaining back of the abundant forest resources in your province.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the GLM Institute in their efforts for making the project a success as well as for kindly facilitating this event. I am confident that the GLM Institute, the local government agencies, the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) and all the other agencies involved will be able to ensure adequate support for the successful outcome of this project.
In closing, I sincerely hope that this project will further strengthen the strategic partnership between our two countries towards the future.
Thank you.
Embassy of Japan in the Philippines