Agribusiness Venture Arrangements (AVAs) in the Philippines have had a significant impact on Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs), with some benefiting while others have not reaped the advantages of land ownership. This necessitates an examination of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)’s institutional and regulatory environments of AVA—specifically lease arrangement—and how it can be strengthened using an integrated conceptual framework of Coleman’s (1987, 1990) boat model and Denhardt and Denhardt’s (2000) New Public Service (NPS) model. Using Dyball and Newell’s (2015) Causal Loop Diagram (CLD), the study plots proposed solutions to address the institutional constraints in the AVA implementation.

The findings reveal that DAR’s weak implementation of AVA is due to its classification as an “activity” rather than a legitimized program. Thus, it is imperative that recognizing AVA as a program would result in dedicated budget allocation or targets that need to be met annually. It would have a crucial role in enhancing DAR’s capacity and authority. Nonetheless, improvements within DAR alone are insufficient for AVA success. Transformations in the political-economic landscape of the agri-agra industry, agricultural land management, and among ARBs are necessary.

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This study particularly recognizes the key role of climate finance in advancing the energy transition in the Philippines due to its potential to mobilize large-scale investments for climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, ensuring that climate-vulnerable countries are able transition towards a low-carbon development pathway. 

In an attempt to better facilitate access to climate finance toward a just and sustainable future for the Philippines, this study examines the policies and the country’s energy transition-related portfolio of two multilateral climate funds under the UNFCCC: the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Further, the study uses the principles of justice (i.e., recognition-based, procedural, distributional, and remedial) as criteria to assess whether and how the policies and projects demonstrate a fast, just, and transformative transition.

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The report advocates for holistic approaches that recognize the interconnectedness of social, economic, and environmental factors. It underscores the need for partnerships among government agencies, financial institutions, private sector entities, NGOs, and local communities. These collaborative efforts aim to develop effective sustainable finance mechanisms tailored to biodiversity conservation and gender equality while also adapting successful international strategies to the local context.

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Based on the findings, current systems and legal frameworks—while showing progress in different aspects of their implementation—lack resources and capacity to close the gender gap in agriculture and effective land management, which also affect biodiversity. These findings underscore the need for sustainable finance mechanisms that prioritize gender equality and empowerment to address systemic inequalities and promote sustainable agricultural practices and the protection of biodiversity.

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This study describes the views, interventions, and challenges of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Nepal Country Office on land tenure security and provides options for engaging/pursuing the dialogue on land tenure security between CSOs and the ADB Nepal Country Office.

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The Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) study entitled “Land Tenure Security in the Philippines: A Discussion Paper for ADB” provides discussion points for the dialogue between the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Philippine civil society organizations on the importance of land rights and on mainstreaming land tenure in its programs and projects in the country.

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In March 2023, the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) launched a publication, “Shrinking Civic Space: The Legal and Political Environment for CSOs in Seven Asian Countries.”

This publication is a compendium of CSO perspective papers that assess the legal, regulatory, policy,  financial, and political environment affecting civil society and CSOs in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, and Sri Lanka. A regional overview highlights the similarities and nuances of the country papers, and synthesizes recommendations to broaden civic space for CSOs in the region.

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In March 2023, the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) released a new study that summarizes a series of conversations on the key challenges faced by civil society organizations (CSOs) involving two generations of CSO workers in seven Asian countries. These 15 conversations involved 178 CSO workers from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, and Sri Lanka.

The discussions cover four topics:

• Societal issues addressed by CSOs: What changes in society do you hope to achieve?
• Evolution of CSOs as mechanism for social change: How has the role of CSOs in society changed?
• Internal challenges facing CSOs: What are the key internal issues that affect the relevance and viability of CSOs?
• The next generation of CSO workers: What are the challenges in building the next generation of CSO workers?

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In February 2023, the Asian Institute of Management (AIM)’s Gov. Jose B. Fernandez, Jr. Center for Sustainable Finance (JBF Center) released a new study, “Implementing Sustainability in the Philippine Banking and Corporate Sectors,” that identifies the opportunities and challenges in implementing sustainable business practices within the Philippines’ corporate world. The study also explores the different sustainable finance opportunities and challenges experienced by the Philippine banking sector and investigates the level of implementation of integrating sustainable finance into banking operations.

This study was commissioned by the Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS, Inc.) with funding from the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok through Fair Finance Philippines.

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