An Overview On

The link of SIAD and poverty eradication efforts to Philippine Agenda 21 (PA21) in this pamphlet is intentional. First, PA21 has already won for the Philippines a global reputation for excellence in sustainable development policy formulation. The Philippines is recognized in the world as the innovator of a development approach that holds great promise in eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development at the same time.

The Philippines, through PA21, champions a comprehensive approach to sustainable development encompassing seven dimensions: economic, political, cultural, social, ecological, human, and spiritual. The Philippines is one of the first countries in the world to recognize that economic development is closely linked and enhanced by the strategic pursuit of the other dimensions of development.

In addition, the Philippines is pioneering the threefolding stakeholdership approach to sustainable development. This threefolding approach harnesses, where appropriate, the energies, talents, and resources of the three key institutions of society to achieve broad-based sustainable development including poverty eradication. These three key institutions are government, representing the realm of polity; business, representing the realm of the economy; and civil society, representing the realm of culture. The Philippines has successfully introduced this approach at the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.

But there is also an additional and more pragmatic reason for linking PA21 and its localization framework, SIAD, to poverty eradication efforts. Experience has shown that poverty eradication involves both economic and non-economic factors. Programs addressing poverty eradication therefore have to be multi-dimensional to succeed. And this is precisely the strength of PA21 and SIAD. The comprehensive approach of PA21 and SIAD answers the needs of a genuine poverty eradication program. This important reliance of poverty eradication on the SIAD approach is illustrated in detail in several sections of this overview, particularly all subsections in section 3.0 and in section 4.4.

Six key elements characterize the uniqueness and power of SIAD to advance poverty eradication within the context of comprehensive sustainable development. These are:

All of these elements of SIAD have profound implications for the success of poverty eradication and sustainable development programs in the different regions, provinces, and towns of the Philippines.

Poverty eradication is a fundamental element of good governance. As a complex problem, poverty eradication requires a comprehensive approach, combining both economic and non-economic initiatives to achieve measurable impact.

This overview of poverty eradication through the SIAD approach hopefully will convince local leaders in government, civil society, and business to seriously undertake SIAD efforts in their respective regions. And surely all these efforts can unite one day to build a new Philippines, one where poverty is no longer the unconscionable scourge that it is today, and one where human, societal and ecological development are sustained through principled and creative threefolding partnerships between government, business, and civil society.