TRANSCEND in Northern Mindanao: Towards Climate-Resilient, Nature-Positive, and Low-Carbon Development

With the goal of bringing climate solutions and biodiversity conservation closer to people and communities, the 2nd TRANSCEND Partners’ Forum was held in Cagayan de Oro City and aimed to bring together national government, regional agencies, and local government officials to align government initiatives with planned interventions and explore synergies across key focus areas—biodiversity, urban ecosystem-based adaptation, energy efficiency in MSMEs, low-carbon transport, and climate governance. Representatives from local government units and partner national and regional agencies were present at the forum. 

In his welcoming remarks, Climate Change Commission Secretary Robert E.A. Borje reiterated that addressing climate and biodiversity crises is a shared responsibility among national and local governments, international development partners, and communities. The Governor of Misamis Oriental, Hon. Juliette Uy, also attended the event and reaffirmed her support for the project, stating that the province welcomes this partnership with open arms and a strong sense of shared responsibility.

The event was also an opportunity to personally hand over the Letters of Cooperation (LOCs) to the Local Chief Executives of the project sites. Messages of support for the project were delivered by officials from various local government units and regional agencies. The TRANSCEND Project will be implemented in three sites in Northern Mindanao—Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, and Bukidnon—integrating and creating synergies across the different focus areas within the landscape.

This event is part of a series of partners’ forums aimed at engaging local partners and stakeholders and ensuring that project interventions are grounded in local context and realities.

The Transformative Actions for Climate and Ecological Protection and Development (TRANSCEND) is a joint initiative between the Republic of the Philippines and the Federal Republic of Germany through the International Climate Initiative (IKI). Designed to raise ambition and align with both international and national climate and biodiversity agendas through local implementation, the project is being implemented by a consortium that includes GIZ, Conservation International Philippines Foundation Inc. (CIPFI), Rare, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).