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The Phil NAP 2010‐2020 is formulated in support to the strategy 2008‐2018 to enhance the implementation of the UNCCD at the country level. Its vision is “a strengthened convergence of actions among national government agencies (NGAs), local government units (LGUs), the private sector, and the civil society organizations (CSOs) to halt and prevent desertification and land degradation, and mitigate the impacts of drought, in order to support poverty reduction and environmental sustainability”.The overall development framework of the Phil NAP 2010‐2020, therefore, consists of a sound National Development Strategy (NDS) that highlights long‐term (Strategic Plan) and short‐to medium‐term (Operational Plan) policies and programs to prevent desertification and land degradation, and mitigate impacts of drought.Long-term Strategic Plan is expressed in terms of three Major Thematic Programs, namely: (i) sustainable agriculture and natural resources based livelihood development: to provide livelihoods in rural areas and improve their resilience to land degradation and climate change, (ii) sustainable use and management of ecosystems: to prevent depletion and degradation of natural resources and protect biodiversity through practices that consider these resources as interdependent ecosystems, (iii) UNCCD as a national adaptation platform “to address climate change and food security, and improve resilience to natural disasters: to contribute to the global efforts to reduce poverty, protect human lives, and ensure environmental sustainability through the development of synergy with other Conventions.Consistent with the scope of the Convention, the strategy and its objectives, the Phil NAP 2010‐2020 has the following objectives: (i) to promote community‐based participatory learning and awareness campaign on the threats and impacts of DLDD and create advocacy among policy and decision makers to address the problems, (ii) to harmonize enabling policies and implementation strategies to contribute in the formulation of new laws and/or effective implementations of existing laws relating to DLDD, (iii) to develop the scientific and technical knowledge of concerned institutions through community focused research, development and extension (RDE) on DLDD, including vulnerability assessment of exposed areas and the establishment of ecosystem friendly technologies, (iv) to institutionalize community initiatives for local area development and effective prevention of location specific desertification, land degradation and mitigation of effects of droughts, (v) to formulate and develop more innovative financing mechanisms to implement the programs to combat desertification/land degradation and mitigate the effects of droughts.To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, the strategy envisages the following activities: (i) community‐based watershed management for sustainable water resources and livelihood development in critical watersheds of selected irrigation systems, (ii) establishment of agrometeorological stations in highly vulnerable agricultural areas: a tool for climate change adaptation and development of local early warning system, (iii) promotion of farm wastes recycling and re‐use for organic based agriculture development in vulnerable upland and lowland areas, (iv) promotion of water-saving technologies (WST) in irrigated rice production system, (v) farmers’ participatory learning center (FPLC) for the promotion of best farming practices on sustainable agriculture and natural resources management and for technology adaptation and development of understanding desertification, biodiversity and climate change, (vi) compendium of indigenous technologies and farmers’ initiatives to combat desertification/land degradation and mitigate effects of droughts in vulnerable island provinces, (vii) bridging the gap between seasonal climate forecast and decision‐makers in agriculture and natural resources, (viii) changes in soil organic matter in degraded paddy and upland soils as affected by agricultural management practices.In the context of governance, given that the project activities would be implemented by various partner agencies, it is important to ensure that an effective management and coordination set‐up is in place. The implementation partnership and institutional arrangement to implement the Phil NAP 2010‐2020 is summarized this document. Strategic alliance between partners and convergence actions among participating stakeholders will be sought to build consensus among them in the implementation of the NAP.
