Dagala, O.B. (2019). MindaNOW PES: A sustainable arrangement of mobalizing the public sector participation in the National Greening Program (Unpublished master's thesis). Public Management Development Program, Development Academy of the Philippines.

Public Management and Development Program Senior Executive Class Batch 7 Thesis (SEC)--Development Academy of the Philippines.

Reforestation is a global concern amid the threat of climate change. As countries all over the globe experienced severe weather phenomenon like typhoons, hurricanes and drought exceeding the normal scale, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations have issued a stern warning of major catastrophes if countries will not mend the damage to the environment (IPCC, 2018) "The once lush tropical rainforests of the Philippines have experienced extensive deforestation and degradation over the last century (Pulhin 2003). Simultaneously, small-scale forest rehabilitation efforts have been ongoing since around 1910. Traditionally, government and private companies initiated and implemented rehabilitation activities, but since the mid-1970s international funding began to play a role and many different sectors became involved (Pulhin et al, 2006)", In the final report of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) on March 2013 on the assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of the reforestation program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the authors Danilo C. Israel and Jeffrey H. Lintag made references of the government's forest rehabilitation program in 1947. Annex A shows the list of related reforestation policies. Forest rehabilitation have gone several phases and strategies, through laws and legal instruments. Indeed, the state policy and strategy of restoring forest cover is comprehensive and it uses the ecosystem-based ridge to reef approach. It integrates the three (3) sub-systems: production, protection, and settlement, responsive to climate change mitigation and adaptation, Such, approach is the foundation of the Executive Order (E.O.) No. 26 series of 2011 on the implementation of the National Greening Program (NGP) and E.O. No. 193 series of 2015 on expanding the coverage of the NGP. Undeniably, the program seems to remain an unattractive engagement for the public. The common perception among stakeholders involved is that the efforts were largely a failure, with little to show on the ground while logging activities whether legal or illegal continue to exist, and the lack of livelihood opportunity in the upland communities continue to pressure the remaining original forest covers (Chokkalingam et al. 2006). While the Mindanao Integrated Peace and Development Framework Plan 2020 boldly states the direction to increase the forest cover of Mindanao by 30 percent in 2016 to 40 percent o land areas in 2020 to 2030, it also present an ecosystem-based economic opportunities of engagement such as the Payment for Ecosystem (PES) scheme - buyer and seller relationship. In itself, reforestation can present substantial driver for employment and livelihood opportunities in upland communities, especially if mechanisms were developed in a way that direct beneficiaries of watershed protection (e.g., hydroelectric power plants, beverage manufacturers) would pay for the ecological services rendered by upland communities. Such schemes for PES promises a brighter future toward win-win outcomes for the economy and the environment in Mindanao (Mindanao 2020). However, for almost eight years sine E.O. 26's implementation, the program failed to gain interest and support from stakeholders as envisioned in the NGP's strategies on social mobilization. As such, this policy paper seeks to establish a sustainable ecosystem service modality for mobilizing public sector participation in the NGP while serving as inputs to the supposed implementing guidelines of Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) in its participation to the NGP by virtue of E.O. 26. Furthermore, this policy paper presents way forward actions and initiatives for a Mindanao-wide support of MinDA's Mindanao Nurturing our Waters Program Payment from Ecosystem Services (MindaNOW - PES), a sustainable arrangement for public sector's participation in the NGP.