Methodology
The proposed project is aimed at assisting Local Authorities (LA) of developing and least developed countries to take steps towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). It will help build the capacity of non state actors (NSA) and Local Authorities (LA) to develop institutional and policy reforms so as to address local environmental and developmental issues at the ground level. Through this capacity building, the project aims to improve access to and management of local environmental resources so as to achieve poverty reduction, economic development, human and environmental security.
The project intends to initiate the adoption of the environmental management system ecoBudget and a database software Poverty Database Monitoring System (PDMS) in local authorities. The method will support good urban governance and local empowerment by developing management capacity.
ecoBudget is an environmental management system, specially designed by “ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability” for local authorities, based on the concept of environmental budgeting. It provides a framework to assist in sustainable local development and effective long-term management of natural resources and the urban environment. The concept of ecoBudget is on the lines of local financial budgeting and runs on an annual cycle. It is based on a political decision making process involving the prioritisation of local environmental issues, target setting, and monitoring and reporting mechanisms to improve accountability and transparency. An environmental budget is prepared for one year and approved by the political body; it forms the framework for using resources within set limits. The budget contains targets for each environmental resource oriented towards its sustainable management. It does not give a monetary value to the environmental resources, but uses environmental indicators to keep the use of resources within the limits of the environmental budget. The first ecoBudget model was first created as early as the mid 90’s and constantly improved with use that has already been successfully implemented in several European local authorities. It has also been adapted for use in Asian countries and has been implemented successfully in Guntur in India and Bohol in Philippines.
The Poverty Database Monitoring System (PDMS) for Local Governments is a database software, which has been developed by the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) of Bohol along with the Bohol Local Development Foundation (BLDF). It consists of 18 indicators, which record and rank the levels of deprivation in the 47-municipalities and 1-city of Bohol Province, including literacy, electricity, garbage disposal, sanitation, unemployment, water and waste water disposal among others. It can act as a tool for governance by identifying and ranking the levels of deprivation at the municipal, village and household level and identifying areas requiring poverty reduction support. It can track the impact of specific interventions including their correlation over time and it provides data on which policy decisions can be made. It is a vital tool to bring about convergence of efforts of all development partners in addressing basic social, economic and environmental problems of communities.
The project intends to initiate the adoption of the environmental management system ecoBudget and a database software Poverty Database Monitoring System (PDMS) in local authorities. The method will support good urban governance and local empowerment by developing management capacity.
ecoBudget is an environmental management system, specially designed by “ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability” for local authorities, based on the concept of environmental budgeting. It provides a framework to assist in sustainable local development and effective long-term management of natural resources and the urban environment. The concept of ecoBudget is on the lines of local financial budgeting and runs on an annual cycle. It is based on a political decision making process involving the prioritisation of local environmental issues, target setting, and monitoring and reporting mechanisms to improve accountability and transparency. An environmental budget is prepared for one year and approved by the political body; it forms the framework for using resources within set limits. The budget contains targets for each environmental resource oriented towards its sustainable management. It does not give a monetary value to the environmental resources, but uses environmental indicators to keep the use of resources within the limits of the environmental budget. The first ecoBudget model was first created as early as the mid 90’s and constantly improved with use that has already been successfully implemented in several European local authorities. It has also been adapted for use in Asian countries and has been implemented successfully in Guntur in India and Bohol in Philippines.
The Poverty Database Monitoring System (PDMS) for Local Governments is a database software, which has been developed by the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) of Bohol along with the Bohol Local Development Foundation (BLDF). It consists of 18 indicators, which record and rank the levels of deprivation in the 47-municipalities and 1-city of Bohol Province, including literacy, electricity, garbage disposal, sanitation, unemployment, water and waste water disposal among others. It can act as a tool for governance by identifying and ranking the levels of deprivation at the municipal, village and household level and identifying areas requiring poverty reduction support. It can track the impact of specific interventions including their correlation over time and it provides data on which policy decisions can be made. It is a vital tool to bring about convergence of efforts of all development partners in addressing basic social, economic and environmental problems of communities.
