MikeLigalig.com

published by the Bohol Chronicle

His Excellency Alistair MacDonald, ambassador of the European Commission to the Philippines, Her Excellency Inger Ulvedt, Swedish ambassador to the Philippines, and Dr. Mario Alberto Bartoli, the Deputy Head of the Italian Embassy to the Philippines graced the final conference of the ecoBudget-Asia Project, which was attended by not less than a hundred participants from the European Union, Sweden, Italy, India, Thailand, and the Philippines last Oct. 15 to 16, at the Bohol Beach Club in Panglao, Bohol.

The conference with the theme, "ecoBudget: An Instrument to Good Local Resource Management and Governance," which was organized by the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) of the Provincial Government of BOhol, convened the ecoBudget-Asia Project Consurtium comprised of the cities of Bologna (Italy), Guntur, (India), Vaxjo (Sweden), and the Province of Bohol through the municipality of Tubigon. The four cities and municipalities together with international experts on sustainability management tools shared their experiences, achievements, and

Impacts in using the ecoBudget as a tool for resource management and governance. For the part of Bohol, the Municipality of Tubigon shared their experiences with the program, which started in April 2005 after having been chosen through a consultative meeting involving representatives from 14 municipalities from the Provincial Government of Bohol, Non-Government Organizations, and the Academe.

Among the distinguished guests welcomed by Gov. Erico B. Aumentado during the opening ceremonies include: Mayor Khanna Nagaraju of Guntur, India, Andrea Burzacchini of ICLEI-Europe, Pamela Lama, the commissioner of Vaxjo, Sweden, Anders Franzen, the Development Manager of Vaxjo, Sweden, Emani Kumar and Vic Acquitania of ICLEI-Southeast Asia as well as the different mayors and municipal planning and development officers of the different towns in Bohol, which are potential implementers of the ecoBudget.