What Happens Next Global Footprint Network, in collaboration with the Climate Change Commission of the Republic of the Philippines and the French Agency for Development, published this report in November 2012 with the goal of making available biocapacity assessments to policy makers. Such data and analysis permit analysts to study trends in both the supply of and demand on biocapacity in the Philippines, and in the world as a whole. While the results may be challenging, the trajectories are not irreversible. This report serves as a first step toward addressing these trends, and as the foundation for a multi-phased national collaboration between Global Footprint Network and the Climate Change Commission. In short: This is just the beginning. Building on the data and analysis in this report, Phase 2 of the Philippines’ Ecological Footprint collaboration will examine the resource-vital region of Laguna Lake, in collaboration with the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) and the Climate Change Commission. The main goals will be to help realize the congressional and municipal vision for sustainable development in Laguna Lake, which includes the economic hub of Metropolitan Manila, by providing a means to benchmark progress, and to provide data needed to inform policy and investments in the region. In addition, because the Ecological Footprint takes a comprehensive approach to resource accounting, it will also complement existing environmental and economic initiatives. 59
Phase 3 will include building an in-depth understanding of the risks and opportunities for the Philippines’ economy. This phase will delve deeper into the analysis of the resource flows within specific sectors to identify the most significant areas of ecological risks and opportunities for the Philippine economy. Global Footprint Network will map the Ecological Footprint flow between industry sectors, and ultimately to consumer final demand. This analysis can help direct more targeted outreach about resource use and waste creation to households and consumers, while also helping the national government understand the ecological resource dependence of industrial sectors. In addition, the Ecological Footprint of production, consumption and trade will be examined, and future projections of biocapacity will be integrated into these calculations to support policy decisions and national action plans around climate change and ecological resource management. Also potential impacts on the Philippines’ competitiveness may be explored. During the course of this collaboration, Global Footprint Network will be providing the technical training needed to build capacity so that the Philippine government can continue to incorporate biocapacity constraints into its decision-making processes long after the collaboration ends.
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